APS : Tuesday, 30 January 2018
HOUSTON (TEXAS)- The national hydrocarbon company SONATRACH and the national electricity and gas company SONELGAZ, which are about to launch huge development projects, have presented their investment potential in Houston,
Texas, on Monday.
During the second session of Algeria-US Energy Forum, CEO of SONATRACH Abdelmoumen Ould Kaddour said that his group has developed a US$56-billion worth investment plan for the five coming years, adding that the details will be made public in three weeks.
“This is an important announcement for partners wishing to invest in Algeria,” he told representatives of US companies participating in the Forum.
In his address, Ould Kaddour outlined the group’s 2030 strategy and highlighted Algeria’s unconventional resources potential in Algeria.
In this respect, he explained that SONATRACH’s new strategy aims at diversifying energy resources, and encouraging new offshore and shale gas activities.
US Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary Sandra Oudkirk expressed US willingness to develop unconventional energies in Algeria, underlining their positive impact on the country’s energy security.
In this regard, Sandra Oudkirk said that the US has become a net gas exporter within 15 years thanks to the exploitation of unconventional resources.
“The development of these projects has allowed changing the US energy landscape,” she added.
Oudkirk also expressed readiness of the US Department of State to assist countries wishing to invest in this field, and make them benefit from the expertise of US oil companies in drilling and production.
For his part, Algerian Ambassador to Washington Madjid Bouguerra, who gave a presentation on Algerian economy, underlined that the decrease in trade volume between the two countries after the shale gas boom, which led to the decline in import of Algerian gas by the US, “should not be considered as a step backward.”
He added that a new trend has been noticed since 2015 with promising prospects for investment and partnership between the two countries.
“Algeria’s economic outlook remains positive, despite oil price decline, which cut in half its oil revenues,” he explained, mentioning the recent forecasts published by the World Bank, which foresees a strong growth upturn in 2018.
The president of the US-Algeria Business Council (USABC), Ismael Chikhoune, said that the second edition of the Forum “marks a turning point in bilateral relations and opens new opportunities for the transfer of expertise, technology and innovation in the energy sector.”
