Energy
From The Report: Algeria 2015
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Hydrocarbons wealth has underwritten Algeria’s growth for decades, allowing the country to accumulate huge foreign currency reserves and underwrite a major public spending campaign over the past 10 years. However, the dramatic drop in oil prices since mid-2014 has had an impact. Despite GDP growth of 4% in 2014, Algeria also experienced its first current account deficit since the late 1990s, equivalent to 18% of its GDP. In response to this situation the government has made aggressive plans to boost oil and natural gas production, including increasing onshore exploration, starting production on unconventional deposits and reforming the regulatory framework to improve investment attractiveness. A significant acceleration of its renewables targets is also under way to help meet rising domestic demand. This chapter contains a viewpoint from Salah Khebri, Minister of Energy; and interviews with Francesco Starace, CEO, ENEL; and Touffik Fredj, President and CEO for North-west Africa, General Electric.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Well intentioned: Focus on exploration and production sharpens as revenues fall
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Hydrocarbons wealth has underwritten Algeria’s growth for decades, allowing the country to accumulate huge foreign currency reserves and underwrite a major public spending campaign over the past 10 years. Thanks to high oil and gas prices, the government has been able to fund infrastructure and social programmes, including subsidies, helping the country sidestep the regional unrest of recent years. However, the dramatic drop in oil prices since mid-2014 has had an impact. Despite GDP growth of…

Viewpoint

Harnessing potential: Salah Khebri, Minister of Energy, on alternative energy and strategies for growth
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We are in an international environment marked by political and economic developments that directly impact the energy sector. We have all been faced with a significant drop in income from hydrocarbons exports. This situation is also occurring in a national economic context marked by the growth of social demands. This shows how important the resulting challenges are for the energy sector. Nevertheless, to us these challenges seem surmountable given the natural and human resources we possess. Through…

Analysis

Fresh fields: Increasing gas production is a priority as consumption rises
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As well as holding the 10th-largest gas reserves in the world, Algeria is also the top natural gas producer in Africa, with a total of 83.3bn cu metres (bcm) in 2014. Hydrocarbons have been one of the main drivers behind the country’s economic development, and according to the IMF they account for around 95% of Algeria’s export earnings, nearly 30% of its GDP and 60% of government revenues. Rising Consumption Sharp increases in domestic gas consumption, which rose from 20.4 bcm in 2003 to 50…

Interview

Fostering renewables: OBG talks to Francesco Starace, CEO, ENEL
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Interview:Francesco Starace What is the outlook for Algeria’s desire to increase energy produced by renewables? FRANCESCO STARACE: The Algerian government is pushing to achieve a renewables capacity target of 22 GW by 2030, and there are three things that will help the country achieve this: the regulatory environment the government has been developing since 2002, which will propel renewables development; a steadily growing electricity demand; and outstanding solar and wind resources. Also,…

Analysis

Key producer: New investment should help reinvigorate the sector
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Hydrocarbons activity is the single most important industry in Algeria, accounting for approximately 60% of government revenues and 95% of total exports. The fall in oil prices since mid-2014 of more than 50% had a negative impact on the country’s finances and resulted in a halving of earnings from hydrocarbons exports. Concerns have been raised that the decline in oil prices may result in decreased capital expenditure across the sector, with small companies expected to suffer the most in the near…

Interview

Tapping potential: OBG talks to Touffik Fredj, President and CEO for North-west Africa, General Electric
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Interview:Touffik Fredj What can be done to increase large-scale power generation in Algeria? TOUFFIK FREDJ: Large-scale power generation projects are very demanding. In our most recent case, the $2.7bn, 9-GW turbine project we are conducting with Sonelgaz, the challenges for such an ambitious project were evident even from the beginning, although by and large it has been a success. Projects of this nature and size often face logistical complications. For example, we had to arrange for the…