Gazprom and Sonatrach have jointly discovered hydrocarbon reserves in the Berkine Basin in Algeria, the Russian oil giant announced on its website Saturday.
The hydrocarbon discovery which is a first for Gazprom in North Africa, came as a result of drilling the first exploratory well of Rhourde Sayah-2 (RSH-2) at Block 236b of El Assel license area in the Berkine Basin.
The well showed daily production rates from the Ordovician deposits in the following volumes: 60,000 cubic metres of gas and 49.38 tonnes of oil per day.
Algeria’s proven natural gas reserves account for 4.5 trillion cubic metres – the second-largest in Africa after Nigeria which has 5.25 trillion cubic meters. The bulk of natural gas reserves are concentrated in the central and eastern parts of the country.
The country’s proven oil reserves stand at 1.5 billion tones – the third-largest in Africa after Libya and Nigeria.
Natural gas accounts for 62.5% of Algeria’s hydrocarbon output, with oil at 34.5%.
Sonatrach is the largest oil and gas company in Africa, it is engaged in exploration, transportation and marketing of oil and natural gas. It controls most of the gas production and wholesale trade in Algeria.
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