Algeria, 10th largest gas producer, said it will record a fall of 4.7% of its gas exports. These negative forecasts will also impact the country’s ability to support local demand for gas, which continues to grow.
Algerian Energy Minister Abdelmadjid Attar (photo) announced that the country’s gas exports are expected to fall by around 4.7% this year, or 41 billion m 3 in 2020 against 43 billion m 3 in 2019. This This trend would be due to the decrease in European demand and to American competition in gas supply.
In 2019, oil and gas revenues amounted to $ 33 billion compared to the $ 23 billion forecast for this year. This is a significant drop given that the North African country derives 95% of its foreign exchange earnings from oil and gas sales.
As for Algerian gas production, it should reach 126 billion m 3 in 2020 against 127 billion m 3 established the previous year. It should be noted that the gradual arrival of mature deposits and the lack of investment have heavily contributed to the drop in production, while on the contrary national consumption has increased by 5.3% on average per year since 2009.
As a reminder, Algeria adopted a law last year aimed at making its oil and gas sector more attractive.
