Algeria is offering oil and gas assets from a portfolio of 24 onshore Saharan blocks as part of a bidding round aimed at attracting foreign investment and boosting production.
Offered blocks are in the Illizi, Berkine, Central Sahara, northern, and western basins, with a strong concentration in the Central Sahara, particularly the Amguid-Messaoud and Oued Mya areas, Algeria’s upstream hydrocarbons agency ALNAFT noted on its website.
Within the portfolio, 13 are development projects possibly requiring implementation of enhanced oil recovery. Among the 11 exploration projects, some are existing discoveries requiring further appraisal.
“The new bidding round will help strengthen global energy security and reinforce Algeria’s role as a regional energy hub,” Hydrocarbons Minister Mohamed Arkab said at the launch ceremony in Algiers, according to Reuters.
Algerian authorities launched the nomination process on 19 April at a ceremony in Algiers.
During this phase, companies could express interest in selected assets ahead of the competitive bidding process, thus providing market feedback on maturity of the asset, development concepts and portfolio strategies that can assist Algerian authorities in asset packaging and project design, according to ALNAFT.
Most blocks have proven petroleum systems and are near to existing infrastructure. Seismic surveys and historical well data are available. ALNAFT has also prepared project flyers with key geological, geophysical, and operational information.
Tender documents and online presentations will be made available when the technical phase of the bidding process starts on 1 June. Data sessions will be ongoing until 31 October, with 26 November set as the deadline for submitting bids.
Successful bidders will sign contracts by 31 January 2027 with Algeria’s state-owned energy company, Sonatrach, under production-sharing or participation agreements, depending on the block.
Sonatrach has released a plan to invest $60 billion in capital expenditures from 2026 to 2030, its largest, with 80% dedicated to upstream exploration and production and 20% to downstream refining and chemicals, according to Algiers Brief business media.
Winners in Algeria’s last bid round in 2024 were
- TotalEnergies and QatarEnergy
- Eni and Thailand’s PTTEP
- ZPEC (China)
- Zangas (Germany/Czech Republic)
- Filada (Switzerland)
- Sinopec