BP is returning to Algeria with a new hydrocarbon prospecting licence, just four years after the British oil major formally ended more than three decades of operations in the North African country.
The company confirmed it had secured the early-stage exploration licence from Algeria’s National Agency for the Valorization of Hydrocarbon Resources (Alnaft), covering areas in Algeria’s eastern basin near the borders with Libya and Tunisia.
In 2022, BP announced its exit from Algeria by selling its business — including significant stakes in the In Amenas and In Salah gas projects — to Italy’s Eni. Its return now signals renewed appetite for the country’s hydrocarbon potential. Alnaft said BP’s comeback sends a strong signal of renewed confidence from international investors in Algeria’s energy sector.
Algeria controls nearly 13 billion barrels of recoverable oil reserves, though these could be depleted within 30 years at current production rates without significant new discoveries, according to the Arab Energy Organization. The country has been actively courting foreign investment to reverse declining reserves and production, including through bid rounds for new exploration blocks. A new bidding round covering seven blocks is scheduled for April 19.
Source: agbi.com