Algerian Shale Should Not Be 'Rushed': CEO

Algerian state producer Sonatrach CEO Abdelmoumen Ould Kaddour has indicated that shale gas exploration will not be rushed.

At a press briefing in Oran June 13, he said time was needed for shale gas to "grow in a professional and wise way” and the focus should be on “quality, not deadlines," according to state news agency APS. His visit to US shale gas fields had enabled him to declare that the sector was “a clean industry” and that it is “imperative for us to explain this to Algerian citizens."

During his last visit to Algeria's gas producing centre of In Salah, he had asked people there “to designate representatives to visit shale gas production sites abroad” in order to report back on what they had seen.

The government in late 2017 seemed to be pressing Sonatrach to develop the sector as rapidly as possible, and characterising protesters as 'agitators', despite large anti-shale demonstrations in 2015. Since then, however, the start up of several new gasfields, plus new upstream deals with existing operators in the country, appear to have emboldened Ould Kaddour in his position.

The CEO also June 13 outlined his objective, under the company’s new 'SH 2030' strategy, that Sonatrach should become “among the five best petroleum enterprises in the world” but did not set out criteria.