Energy

For many, offshore hydrocarbons exploration constitutes perhaps the final oil and gas frontier. Offshore drilling targets deposits trapped beneath the ocean floor – or in some cases beneath inland lakes and seas – which are accessed through wellbores in the seabed. It is the most complex and expensive way of exploiting oil and gas deposits. Wells...

As an OPEC member and major gas exporter, Algeria has plans to develop its shale gas reserves and offshore production to secure a long-term supply of energy for both exports and the domestic market. In 2012 state-owned energy company Sonatrach began to drill for shale gas in the Ahnet basin, located south of In Salah in the south-west of the country...

As a predominately arid and semi-arid country, Algeria must carefully manage its limited water resources. In the past decade, it has witnessed recurring water shortages due to increasing demand from growing industries and the populace, as well as the effects of drought and pollution. For the past 30 years, Algeria’s rainfall levels have been below...

Due to recent power cuts during the summer of 2012, Algeria is accelerating plans to expand its capacity. According to statements made by the minister of energy and mines, Youcef Yousfi, the government is planning to increase output from the current 11,000 MW to 19,000 MW within the next five years, almost doubling capacity. Previously, the ministry...

Since 2006 Algeria has shown growing interest in using nuclear power as an alternative means of generating energy, and recent power shortages have provided the impetus plans to realise this. “We plan to generate 13% of electricity from nuclear energy by the year 2050,” Youcef Yousfi, minister of energy and mines, told OBG.