Page 12 - AfrOil Week 24

AfrOil PIPELINES & TRANSPORT AfrOil

Algerian minister: Sonatrach is

revising its gas export strategy

ALGERIA ALGERIA’S Energy Minister Mohamed Arkab Mediterranean Sea. It supplies fuel to Spain via
said last week that his country was eager to the Maghreb-Europe Gas (MEG) link and the
“remain the preferred supplier” of natural gas Medgaz system. Both pipes originate at the Hassi
to Europe. He also stressed, though, that the R’Mel field, but MEG passes through Morocco
national oil company (NOC) Sonatrach would on its way to the Spanish city of Cordoba, which
have to work hard to achieve this goal. is connected to the Portuguese gas grid, while
Speaking on the sidelines of a plenary session Medgaz passes directly from the Algerian port
of the Council of the Nation, the upper house of of Beni Saf to Almeria, Spain.
Algeria’s parliament, Arkab said that Sonatrach Additionally, Algeria pumps gas to Italy via
would have to adapt its marketing strategy to the Trans-Mediterranean Pipeline (TransMed).
current conditions. The company “is changing This network passes through Tunisia and then
its commercial strategy” in light of recent devel- continues on through Sicily to mainland Italy.
opments, he said, according to a government It also includes an extension that pumps gas to
press release. Slovenia. ™
The minister did not reveal any details of the
revisions under consideration, but he did note
that Sonatrach was now facing more competi-
tion that it has in the past. In the face of this com-
petition, he said, the NOC needs to play up its
own advantages, particularly its access to export
pipelines that link Algerian gas fields directly
to European markets. These pipelines give the
North African state an edge over other potential
gas suppliers, he said.
Additionally, Arkab indicated that Sonatrach
intended to expand in new directions. The com-
pany will seek to optimise its opportunities with
respect to the development of shale gas reserves
and the expansion of LNG exports, he said.
Other gas-producing countries have already
invested heavily in such projects, and Algeria is
ready to follow suit, he added.
“The world changes, and so do we,” he
remarked.
Algeria currently delivers natural gas
to Europe via subsea pipelines across the Algerian’s three gas routes to Europe (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

INVESTMENT
Nigeria issues licence to

small-scale refinery in Ogbele

NIGERIA NIGERIA’S petroleum ministry has awarded a train that was reportedly completed in January.
licence to Nigeria Delta Exploration & Produc- The train will produce dual-purpose kerosene,
tion (NDEP) to operate a small-sized oil-refin- jet fuel, motor and marine diesel and heavy fuel
ing train in Ogbele, a town in the coastal Rivers oil. The marine diesel is low-sulphur, compliant
State, it said on June 8. with the latest pollution standards set by the
The licence is for a 5,000 barrel per day (bpd) International Maritime Organisation (IMO).

P12 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 24 17•June•2020