Courtesy of The Africa Report, a look at a new energy discovery in Algeria:

Following a record-breaking year in 2022, the national company Sonatrach has announced the discovery of six new deposits in the first quarter of 2023. In the midst of a global decline in production, the oil and gas boom shows no signs of abating, positioning Algeria as a strong player in the international hydrocarbon market.

In line with recent impactful official statements, the Algerian national oil and gas group has revealed the discovery of six new hydrocarbon resources between January and March 2023.

In total, 17,773 barrels of oil equivalent per day and 1.4 billion cubic metres of gas per day have been identified by Sonatrach’s teams, as they seek to replenish their reserves.

Against the backdrop of a fluctuating international hydrocarbon market, under the combined influence of European Union sanctions against Russia and the ongoing crisis in the banking sector, Algeria is working to showcase its leading role in these raw materials.

“These discoveries demonstrate the attractiveness of the mining sector in Algeria,” commented the management of the Algerian giant in a press release published on Tuesday, 11 April.

Drilling activities
In Touggourt, in the northern Algerian Sahara, drilling of the BRM-1 and BMD-1 wells in the Amguid Messaoud basin has revealed flow rates of 10,555 barrels per day of oil and 426,373 cubic metres per day of gas.

“These results confirm the region’s significant potential, located east of the Hassi Messaoud field,” the statement said.

In the Berkine basin, located in the eastern part of the Algerian Sahara, 485,868 cubic metres per day of gas, 239 barrels per day of condensate, and 5,022 barrels per day of oil have been discovered in the two recently drilled wells, HAM-1bis and SAISW-1, according to Sonatrach estimates.

The last two discoveries were made in the Ohanet area of the Illizi basin and in the Oued Mya basin, south-east of the Hassi R’Mel field with, according to the Algerian major, respectively 336,930 cubic metres per day of gas and 1,504 barrels per day, and 453 barrels per day of oil and 168,312 cubic metres per day of gas.

Doubling exports
While Algeria recently voluntarily reduced its oil production by 48,000 barrels per day from May to the end of 2023 in order to stabilise the market, its ambition is to strengthen its gas production and double its exports to Europe, which has been on the fence with Russia since the invasion of Ukraine.

Committed to meeting the European Union’s energy needs, Algiers produced 102 billion cubic metres of gas, half of which was destined for the local market. “I hope that in 2023 we will reach a production of 100 billion cubic metres of gas exclusively for export,” said Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune last December at the Algerian Production Fair (FPA-2022).