Energy and hydrocarbons: pipeline projects, LNG tests, new discoveries
The Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline (TSGP) project resurfaced in media analysis. The 4,128 km pipeline would link Nigeria to Algeria via Niger. Estimated cost: $13 billion. Capacity: 30 billion cubic metres per year. European Commission included TSGP in its 2022 list of Projects of Common Interest. Algeria’s state energy firm Sonatrach holds a 90% stake in the project. Nigeria and Niger hold 5% each. No final investment decision yet.
Algeria’s LNG exports face a credibility test, according to APAnews. Algeria shipped 12.8 million tonnes of LNG in 2023, down from 13.2 million in 2022. Sonatrach aims to increase LNG capacity to 17 million tonnes by 2025. Current liquefaction plants: Arzew (10.8 million tonnes/year), Skikda (5.2 million tonnes/year). New trains under construction at Skikda and Arzew. First phase operational in 2024.
Algeria announced three new oil and gas discoveries in the Berkine and Illizi basins. Sonatrach made the finds. No reserve estimates released. Berkine basin holds Algeria’s largest onshore oil field, Hassi Messaoud. Illizi basin produces 120,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
Tourism and hospitality: prison sentences, state ambitions, QGIRCO’s entry
Algeria’s government stated it wants to end tourism’s “Sleeping Beauty” status. Minister of Tourism and Handicrafts Yacine Hamadi said Algeria received 3.3 million tourists in 2023, up from 2.4 million in 2022. Target for 2024: 4 million. Algeria’s tourism receipts reached $280 million in 2023. Target for 2024: $350 million. The government plans to open 100 new hotels by 2026. Current hotel capacity: 120,000 beds.
QGIRCO, a Qatari investment fund, will open a major project in Algeria. No details on location or sector. QGIRCO’s previous Algerian investments include a $1.5 billion petrochemical plant in Arzew, announced in 2022. The plant will produce 1.1 million tonnes of polyethylene and polypropylene per year. Construction start: 2025.
Infrastructure: tramways, roads, wildfires
The government issued instructions to rehabilitate fire-damaged roads and infrastructure. Wildfires in August 2023 affected 10 wilayas. Total area burned: 100,000 hectares. Estimated damage: $120 million. Rehabilitation budget: $80 million. Work began in May 2024. Completion target: December 2024.
Diplomacy: Germany, Iran, Serbia, Austria
Iranian ambassador highlighted Algeria-Iran relations. Trade volume between the two countries reached $300 million in 2023, up from $180 million in 2022. Main exports: Algerian dates, iron ore. Main imports: Iranian pharmaceuticals, machinery.
Minister of Transport Kamel Beldjoud met Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić in Belgrade. Topics: air transport, logistics. Air Algérie operates three weekly flights between Algiers and Belgrade. Serbia’s imports from Algeria reached $120 million in 2023. Main imports: Algerian crude oil, fertilisers.
Identity and diaspora: Amazigh demands, Islamist narratives
Algeria’s Amazigh community saw renewed identity debates. The government recognised Tamazight as an official language in 2016. 2024 budget for Tamazight promotion: $25 million. 1,200 schools teach Tamazight. 12,000 teachers employed. Berber cultural associations increased from 800 in 2019 to 1,500 in 2024.
Algerian Islamist parties used identity issues to mobilise support. Saber Blidi, researcher at the Arab Weekly, stated that Islamist groups frame Amazigh demands as a threat to national unity. The Movement of Society for Peace, Algeria’s largest Islamist party, won 65 seats in the 2021 parliamentary elections. Total seats: 407.
Algerian diaspora in Canada: economic ties
Balance of the week
Key takeaway for entrepreneurs
Algeria’s energy sector offers opportunities in LNG expansion and pipeline logistics. Tourism projects require local partnerships for hotel development. Infrastructure tenders remain open for transport and road rehabilitation. Identity debates may influence marketing strategies in Amazigh-majority regions. The Algerian diaspora in Canada presents a stable remittance and trade corridor.
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