The President General Manager of the Algerian state society SONATRACH, Abdelmoumem Ould Kaddour, and Eni's Chief Executive Officer, Claudio Descalzi, have signed an agreement that represents a further step forward for strengthening the partnership in the Berkine basin with the aim to create a hub gas in the area through a synergy with the existing assets of BRN (403 block) and MLE (405b block).
This agreement, which is part of the Framework Agreement signed last April at the "Technical Scientific Days" in Oran, is aimed at creating an ambitious program to relaunch the exploration and development activities in the area, through the 'optimization of existing infrastructures in synergy with those of the next construction: a line of 180 Km that will connect in fast-track the assets of BRN with MLE that will become the reference gas hub of the Berkine basin.
Eni and SONATRACH also agreed the commercial conditions for the 2018-19 thermal year in line with the gas market. The two companies have agreed to start a commercial negotiation with the aim of assessing the extension of the gas supply beyond the natural contractual deadline of 2019, as part of a strengthening of their cooperation and partnership.
Eni's Chief Executive Officer, Claudio Descalzi, commented: "This is a further step forward in the strategic expansion of our upstream activities in Algeria and in the renegotiation by Eni of the 1 long gas supply contracts.
term and also marks the spirit of strong collaboration between SONATRACH and Eni which is developing in different areas, from exploration to the development of new projects in the gas sector and the development of renewables ».
Eni and SONATRACH also agreed to further strengthen their cooperation in the petrochemical, renewable energy, offshore projects in Algeria and other opportunities for international cooperation.
Eni is present in Algeria from the 1981 and now participates in 32 mining permits with an equity production in the country of more than 100.000 barrels of oil equivalent a day, which make the company the main international player in the country.