MEED: Algeria: Unlocking shale gas potential

Algeria’s plans to amend its hydrocarbons law are good news for the oil and gas industry. The current law is among the harshest in the region, and the past three upstream licensing rounds have attracted scant interest from international oil companies (IOCs).

The new terms will tax IOCs on profits rather than revenue, and introduce more attractive terms for the exploration of resources that are difficult to access or require new technology.

The government has announced plans to drill for its first offshore gas by 2014. It will also continue to exploit tight gas reserves, some of which are already being developed in the southwest. There is the prospect of more gas from the Berkine and Illizi basins, among others. MORE