Italian major Eni and Algeria’s Sonatrach on Tuesday said they intend to accelerate the development of new oil and gas projects in the onshore North Berkine basin, that will lead to a significant increase in national production, Eni said in a statement.
Sonatrach and Eni Chief Executive Officers, Rachid Hachichi and Claudio Descalzi met today in Algiers on Tuesday to review progress made on the activities taking place in the country, said the statement.
The "fast track" North Berkine project is composed of two phases, according to the statement.
"The first, related to oil development, has seen the start up in May, just three months after the entry into force of the farm in agreement on the block; the second one, related to gas development, will see the start up for the end of September 2019 after the completion of the BRN-MLE pipeline located in the Algerian desert," the statement went on.
The first phase of the North Berkine oil project will reach a plateau production of 10,000 gross barrels for the end July, while the gas project will develop to reach an incremental production of 6 million cubic metres and 7,000 barrels of associated liquid by the end of the year.
Eni has been present in Algeria since 1981 with an equity production of 90,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, making the company the main international player in the North African country.
