According to Amac News, Reuters quoted Sonatrach as saying that the company and China's Sinopec signed a cooperation agreement worth $850 million for hydrocarbon development and exploration in the North African country.
According to the Algerian state news agency, Rachid Hachichi, CEO of Sonatrach, said during the signing of the agreement: The Algerian company is in talks with seven foreign companies, including Italy's Eni, China's Sinopec, France's Total Energy, the US' Chevron and the US' ExxonMobil, and a Swedish company, to sign oil and gas exploration and development contracts.
Not long ago, Algeria's National Hydrocarbon Development Agency ("Naft") signed a cooperation agreement with Chevron North Africa Ventures Ltd, a subsidiary of Chevron of the United States, to explore hydrocarbon reserves in the Mediterranean Sea.
The two parties will evaluate the potential presence of oil and gas resources in the Mediterranean Sea within two years, and the project includes advanced geological analyses and advanced technologies to assess the feasibility of future extraction projects.
Mourad Belghem, head of Algeria's National Hydrocarbon Development Agency, said: "This agreement increases Algeria's competitiveness in the international energy market and is an opportunity for Chevron and Algeria to cooperate."
Algeria is pursuing the dual objectives of attracting foreign capital and diversifying hydrocarbon revenues, which currently account for more than 90 percent of the country's foreign exchange earnings.
In 2018, the Algerian National Oil Company signed two contracts with France’s Total and Italy’s Eni to assess potential offshore oil reserves. Algeria’s proximity to Europe and its extensive Mediterranean coastline have made the North African OPEC member a strategic yet uncharted territory.