After reporting increased production for 2016, Algeria is looking to expand its natural gas exports to Europe, building on existing trade to Italy, Portugal and Spain.
After reporting increased production for 2016, Algeria is looking to expand its natural gas exports to Europe, building on existing trade to Italy, Portugal and Spain.
According to media reports, Algeria provided 55% of Spain’s natural gas demand last year, followed by 16% of Italy’s and 15% for Portugal.
The North African nation hopes to continue its production growth through 2017, allowing increase exports to Europe and reverse a multi-year decline in energy industry activity.
“Boosting existing fields and new fields coming online this year will push output up,” Sonatrach’s CEO Amine Mazouzi said on Thursday on the sidelines of a conference.
Over the last several years, Algeria has struggled to sustain and increase oil and gas production amid an ongoing corruption investigation, management shake-ups at the state-backed Sonatrach, collapsing global pricing and fading confidence among vital foreign production partners.
While the country largely escaped the sort of political and security unrest that left neighboring Libya struggling, it has faced some spill-over from regional incidents and questions about its long-term political leadership.
In an effort to increase its export options, Algeria recently inked a new supply deal with Italy, providing the country with 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas each year, covering about 16 percent of the southern European country’s demand through the Transmed pipeline.
Citing a source close to the country’s state-backed energy firm, Sonatrach, Reuters reported that gas exports are expected to increase to 57 billion cubic meters following sales of 54 bcm in 2016.
In recent years, Algeria has worked to reverse its downward production trend by amending its energy laws to make it more appealing to foreign energy firms and recently held a summit with European Union officials to explore how to attract needed investment and increase involvement in the global marketplace.
Source: Algeria Looks to Build on Spanish Exports for 2017 Gas Expansion
