GHARDAIA (Algeria)- Sonatrach will take full ownership of all the refineries located in the Algerian territory, CEO of Group Abdelhamid Zerguine declared Wednesday in Ghardaïa (500 km south of Algiers). Speaking after a working visit to the region to inspect the choice of the site to shelter the new refinery of Ghardaïa, CEO of Sonatrach announced that the creation of five new refineries in Algeria is imposed by the upward…

Accusation chamber president at a court in Algiers finished complementary investigation in the case of Algeria’s energy group Sonatrach. All involved persons were questioned and the sentence will be decided on January 23rd, Echorouk has learnt.   Sonatrach’s CEO, his three assistants, his two sons, Executive Director at the group, manager of research department, former General Director of Algeria’s CPA bank and his son are accused of money laundering and…

Algeria is considering a new energy law that would cancel a windfall tax on foreign energy firms, according to a draft seen by Reuters, in an attempt to boost foreign investment and help meet growing social demands. The windfall tax that many potential investors see as a deterrent would be replaced by a “complementary tax on results”. “This tax will replace the windfall tax,” the draft says. It did not…

Algeria’s Sonatrach announced on Tuesday a crude oil discovery at a project it partners with Thailand’s top oil and gas explorer, PTT Exploration and Production PcL (PTTEP), and CNOOC Ltd. The oil find was made at the Hassi Bir Rkaiz project in the Berkine basin at blocks 443a-424a-414xt-415ext, it said in a statement on its website. The discovery is at the sixth well to be drilled at the project, with…

After a long  round of prequalifications since the first  call for tender in 2008 launched by TouatGaz Group for the EPC phase of its Onshore gas processing and production facilities in Adrar Area (1500km south of Algiers)  ,Finally the group  (an association between the Algerian group Sonatrach and the French GDF Suez E & P) has chosen a  list of bidders which took part in a second  round of auction,…

ALGIERS, Nov 9 (NNN- APS) — Malaysia’s Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Peter Chin Fah Kui will begin a three-day working visit to Algeria on Saturday. The visit is made at the invitation of his Algerian counterpart Youcef Yousfi, the Ministry of Energy and Mining said in a statement here. The Malaysian minister, who will be accompanied by a delegation representing the central administration and business sector, will have…

Egypt, a gas producer and exporter, has agreed to import Algerian gas and is in talks with Qatar for a similar deal, the prime minister said on Wednesday, a move that may help Egypt meet its own export contracts while domestic demand rises. Egypt has two liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants and a pipeline to export gas, but energy industry sources say the government has been diverting some gas contracted…

GDF Suez SA, owner of Europe’s biggest natural-gas network, has drilled the first of 24 production wells at the central Algerian field of Touat and expects to begin output in 2016. “The well was successfully drilled,” Jerome Chambin, a spokesman for the company, said by telephone from Paris. GDF Suez has 65 percent of Touat and Sonatrach Group, the Algerian state oil and gas company, the rest. The project will…

Sonatrach, Algeria’s state oil company, will partly shut its 300,000 barrel-a-day Skikda refinery for repairs from March to August, according to the International Energy Agency. The halt will increase the country’s need for gasoil imports while reducing naphtha exports, the Paris-based agency said today in its monthly report. The plant is expected to run at half capacity during the work, according to the report. Sonatrach plans to import about 2…

Algeria is to restart its Adrar refinery within days after concluding a new contract with co-owner China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), Algerian energy officials said. A stoppage at the plant, along with maintenance at other refineries, has contributed to an increase in Algerian demand for imported gasoil. Adrar is Algeria’s smallest refinery with an annual output capacity of 600,000 tonnes. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the…