Algeria to drill 1,450 wells in oil investment plan

Algeria intends to drill nearly 1,450 oil wells during its 2025-30 investment plan in an attempt to boost production and reverse a decline in its hydrocarbon resources.

State operator Sonatrach has worked on the development plan with the help of its foreign partners, the company’s CEO Noureddine Daoudi told the official Algerian news agency on Wednesday.

Daoudi said the foreign companies, some of which were awarded concessions in 2025, would contribute 26 percent of the investments as part of the plan.

He did not specify the value of the funds to be pumped during the strategy apart from saying they are “substantial” and cover 66 percent of the oil and gas rich areas in Algeria.

The plan involves drilling 500 exploratory wells and 950 development wells, Daoudi said, adding that nearly 6,300 wells would also undergo work including maintenance, servicing and repairs to boost their productivity.

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In June last year Algeria awarded new oil and gas concessions to five foreign groups following strong competition among 41 companies bidding for more than 150,000 square kilometres offered.

In October Sonatrach also signed a $5.4 billion contract with Saudi Arabia’s Midad Energy for oil and gas exploration and exploitation in the Illizi South region. Midad Energy North Africa will finance the exploration and production operations, Sonatrach said in a statement.

Algeria controls nearly 13 billion barrels of recoverable oil reserves, which could run out within 30 years at current production levels in the absence of new major discoveries, according to official estimates.