The India’s Dodsal Engineering and Construction Company has entered into a multi-dollar deal with the Algerian state energy company, in a gas project geared to maintaining oil output at the OPEC member’s main Hassi Messaoud oilfield.
The arrangement, estimated to be worth $618 million, covers the building of a gas compression unit with capacity of 24 million cubic metres per day, and a 180-km-long gas pipe network.
Chief Executive officer Abdel amid Zerguine confirmed that the project will be implemented in 36 months and will help keep production at the field at its current level of 400,000 barrels per day.
Zerguine also said that Algeria government has also planned a third boosting complex that will allow it salvage an additional 490 billion cubic metres of gas at its main gas field of Hassi R’mel.
The sprawling North African energy exporter has been struggling to increase oil and gas output, on which it heavily relies to finance economic development and programmes that help ease social tensions.
Algeria’s oil and gas outputs have dipped in the past few years due to a fall in exploration activities and a lack of investment from foreign companies.
But Said Sahnoun, vice-president for upstream activities, said that the output would have a “considerable rise” from now to 2018, when the company starts production from its fields of Tinhert, Hassi Bahamou, Hassi Mina, Touat and Reggane.
Algeria is a major gas supplier to Europe.
