Page 9 - AfrElec Week 43

AfrElec COMMENTARY AfrElec
more flexible contracts. “This overhaul is urgent, given the situation of our reserves, long-term production profiles and the time [needed] to implement new projects,” it said.
The statement went on to say that the pro- posed changes would allow Sonatrach to serve both domestic consumers and the export mar- ket more effectively. Without reform, it said, the company will not be able to develop new gas fields capable of supplying the home market without cutting into exports.
The new law could also help Algeria realise its ambition of bringing unconventional hydrocar- bon reserves on stream, Sonatrach added. “The country’s potential for hydrocarbon reserves remains important for both conventional and unconventional resources,” it said. “despite this potential, foreign companies have shown little interest in exploration, judging by the modest results of the four tenders organised under the [Bouteflika regime].”
The opposition
The company’s remarks are unlikely to sway crit- ics, who have found multiple reasons to dispar- age the draft legislation.
As noted above, some of Bensalah’s oppo- nents say the law is designed primarily to attract investment from major international oil com- panies (IOCs) that are likely to lend the interim president enough support to remain in power.
Many protesters view this scenario as a problem, arguing that Bensalah, along with his backers in the army, has unacceptably close ties to the Bouteflika regime.
Other critics have highlighted reports that the draft law aims to overhaul the domestic energy pricing schedule. They have alleged that the caretaker government is looking to lift subsidies on motor fuel and electricity prices, saying that this move would inevitably lead to massive price increases that would strain most consumers’ resources.
Representatives of the caretaker government have answered critics by suggesting that the draft legislation will help Algeria find the new reserves and generate the additional revenues it needs to overcome the economic troubles that sparked demonstrations against Bouteflika’s regime. They have asserted that the proposed law is sim- ilar enough to the hydrocarbon law introduced in 1986 that it is likely to lead to a wave of new discoveries, as occurred during the 1990s.
The debate between the two sides is not likely to be settled in the near future. Instead, the protests will probably ensure that the care- taker government does not succeed in gaining approval for the draft law before the elections set for December 12.
As a result, the winners will have to take another look at the question of how best to utilise Algeria’s oil and gas resources. ™
GAS-FIRED GENERATION
Gas outputset to rise at Libya’s Faregh field
LIBYA
WAHA Oil Co. (WOC), a subsidiary of Libya’s National Oil Co. (NOC), has begun test oper- ations for the second phase of development at Faregh, a natural gas and condensate field.
According to WOC, the test programme will help push output levels up at Faregh from 70mn cubic feet (1.98mn cubic metres) per day, the average level reported at the end of first-phase work, to 250 mcf (7.08 mcm) per day in just two weeks. The field is also set to yield 15,000 barrels per day (bpd) of condensate during sec- ond-phase operations, the company added.
WOC launched testing on October 23 by pumping gas to an oilfield known as Intisar-103. The next step will be to transport gas from Intisar-103 to the pipeline network that runs
along Libya’s Mediterranean coast, it said. Initially, WOC will use output from Faregh for a gas-injection programme at Intisar-103. It intends to inject the gas into this field to help maintain reservoir pressure and improve pro- duction rates. Later, it may be able to use the coastal pipelines to deliver additional volumes to customers in Libya’s eastern regions. Among
the potential buyers are thermal power plants (TPPs), which are currently using more costly and less environmentally friendly petroleum products for fuel, along with manufacturers of methanol and the Libyan Norwegian Fertiliser Co. (LifeCo) in Marsa El Brega.
Mustafa Sanalla, the chairman of NOC, said he was pleased with WOC’s progress at Faregh.
“WOC has finally overcome difficulties to complete this vital project after long delays caused by shutdowns and unstable security con- ditions in the country,” he said. “I congratulate WOC management and employees for their achievement.” Sanalla added: “NOC will con- tinue to take steady steps towards our objectives – conditional on improved security, as well as timely and adequate financing and investment.” Ahmed Abdallah Ammar, the chairman of WOC’s management committee, also expressed his satisfaction with the testing programme at Faregh. “I would like to thank all WOC employ- ees for their hard work, as well as NOC for its continuous support to complete this project,” he said. ™
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