Algeria’s state controlled energy company Sonatrach said that it is interested in the participation of Indian Oil Corp in the trans-Saharan gas pipeline project, according to the Algerian Ambassador to India Echarif Mohammed-Hacene.
The US$10 billion project will see the pipeline originate from Nigeria via neighbouring Niger.Â
“We need more foreign partners outside Europe for this 4,000-km-long project , We hope Indian companies will show interest – not only for capital formation, but also to build the capacity itself,” Mohammed-Hacene told IANS in an interview, underscoring how much Algiers is favourably disposed to participation by India Inc.
Some of the world’s biggest companies have shown interest in the project, he said referring to Russia’s Gazprom, Italy’s ENI, France’s Total and Anglo-Dutch Royal Dutch Shell.
He said his vision was to see two-way trade between India and Algeria more than double over the next three years from $2 billion to $5 billion and that it was crucial to explore areas that stretch beyond energy and other traditional sectors.
Both Sonatrach and Indian Oil Corp had successfully bid for major hydrocarbon blocks in Libya.
