Algeria aims to increase its natural gas production by more than 10 billion m3.

The North African country, represented by Sonatrach, aims to consolidate its position as the leading supplier of natural gas in the Mediterranean basin and on the African continent.

With this in mind, Algeria plans to increase its natural gas production by more than 10 billion cubic meters between 2024 and 2028, with a focus on improving the exploitation of fields under development, according to a Sonatrach official.

Speaking on Algerian national radio on February 12, Youcef Khanfar, Sonatrach Group's Central Director of New Resources, asserted that Algeria is already positioned as the leading supplier of natural gas in the Mediterranean basin and Africa, and intends to maintain this position. He underlined Sonatrach's efforts in this direction, noting that they had led to an increase of over 4 billion cubic meters of gas by 2022.

According to Mr Khanfar, 163 wells have been drilled over the past five years, leading to the discovery of 80 deposits with estimated reserves of between 75 and 110 million tonnes of oil equivalent per year.

Algeria is also expected to achieve gross gas production of 150 billion cubic meters by 2025, compared with 130 billion cubic meters at present, according to Sonatrach's central director.

The aim is to maintain this average production beyond 2030 in order to meet domestic market demand, and to maintain exports at around 50 billion cubic meters to the traditional market, Europe, while exploring new markets, he added.