Senior executives from the state-owned Sonatrach group will meet with executives from Exxon Mobil and Chevron at the Algerian-American Energy Forum in Washington this November.
The parties concerned have already been discussing upstream gas partnerships in Algeria for several months and this meeting could be sanctioned by the signing of cooperation contracts in the gas field.
Indeed, according to Energy Minister Mohamed Arkab, who recently commented on the case, “negotiations with US oil groups are progressing and will have to be finalized before the end of this year.”
November forum presents an opportunity to finalize discussions with the US oil giants Exxon Mobil and Chevron and to sign possible partnership agreements between Sonatrach and the two American groups.
Indeed, last March, Sonatrach signed a memorandum of understanding with Chevron to invest in gas exploration and production in the south, and talks with Exxon Mobil are still ongoing. This is a new era for U.S. investments, which will lead to a stronger presence in the Algerian oil and gas market, which today is summed up in the presence of a single U.S. player in the oil and gas sector in Algeria, Oxy Petroleum.
Algeria, which has set itself the objective of improving its gas production by 53% in the coming years, through the renewal of its natural resources, is counting on foreign investment in the field of “exploration”.
Indeed, this issue was one of the key issues in discussions with the US oil and gas giants Exxon Mobil and Chevron. Sonatrach discusses “terms of agreements with Exxon and Chevron that would include both exploration for conventional and shale gas reserves,” Energy and Mines Minister Mohamed Arkab said.
SOURCE; ALGERIAINVEST.COM
