The giant Algerian oil group Sonatrach announced Monday that it had discovered three oil and gas fields in the Algerian desert, one of them in partnership with the Italian group "Eni".
"The first discovery is a discovery of condensed gas in two reservoirs from the Devonian layer," after an exploration by Sonatrach in an "exploratory well in the Ain Amenas 2+ research area, in the Illizi basin", said a statement by "Sonatrach", reported by the official Algerian news agency. .
According to the statement, "the flow rates recorded during the tests were 300,000 cubic meters per day of gas, 26 cubic meters per day of condensate from the first reservoir, 213,000 cubic meters per day of gas and 17 cubic meters per day of condensate from the second reservoir."
Sonatrach indicated in its statement that the second discovery was made in partnership with the Italian group Eni after drilling an exploration well "in the Saif Fatima 2+ research area, located in the northern region of the Berkine basin".
The statement referred to "the discovery of crude oil in sandstones."
And the Algerian group´s statement continued, "During the production test, the well produced 1,300 barrels / day of oil and 51,000 cubic meters per day of associated gas," noting that "these two discoveries will be taken care of through the development of the "fast track", given their proximity to existing facilities. .
Sonatrach´s statement indicated a third "positive" result during the drilling of a well in the "Taghit" research site in the "Bashar" basin, where "a significant production of gas was obtained."
In its statement, the group stressed that this result "confirms the presence of significant potentials of gas in this previously untested reservoir in an area considered an emerging ocean."
In early January, Sonatrach announced investments worth $40 billion between 2022 and 2026 in oil exploration, production and refining, as well as gas exploration and extraction.
At the time, the group´s CEO, Tawfiq Hakkar, said that the group´s revenues increased by 70 percent in 2021 thanks to a 19 percent increase in its oil and gas exports.
Algeria´s proven reserves of natural gas amount to about 2,400 billion cubic meters, and 11 percent of the gas consumed in Europe comes from Algeria, while Russia provides the old continent with 47 percent of the material it consumes.
Algeria is the largest exporter of natural gas in Africa and the seventh in the world.
Several countries have been seeking to dispense with importing Russian energy resources since Russia invaded Ukraine, and Algeria is one of the alternatives.
During an Algerian-Italian summit held on July 18, Algeria announced an increase in gas exports to Italy to become the country´s largest supplier, ahead of Russia, against the backdrop of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
