LNG

US investor Warren Buffett, whose Berkshire Hathaway group has a stake in the Cove Point LNG export plant in Maryland and a growing stake in US exploration and production company, Occidental Petroleum, revealed that he had stakes in Japan’s five main trading houses with their widespread energy assets and intended to buy more Japanese shares.

Occidental Petroleum, the Houston-based company with US oil and gas assets and Warren Buffett as a main shareholder as well as owning Algerian oil and associated natural gas stakes pointing at Europe, reported strong third-quarter results.

Algerian national energy company and LNG producer Sonatrach said a contract worth $4 billion had been signed relating to supplying the European Union with natural gas through further development along with European and US oil and gas majors of blocks 404 and 208 of the Berkine Basin in Eastern Algeria.

The chief executives of Italian energy company Eni and Algerian LNG, pipeline natural gas and oil group Sonatrach have signed an accord related to the North African nation’s onshore Berkine Basin.

Sonatrach CEO Toufik Hakkar and his Eni counterpart Claudio Descalzi, signed the deal in the presence of the Algerian Minister of Energy and Mines Mohamed Arkab and Italian Ambassador to Algeria Giovanni Pugliese.

“Eni and Sonatrach also signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation on initiatives in the energy transition,” said a statement.

“The agreements are testimony to the commitment of Sonatrach and Eni to continue the shared strategy of accelerated project development,” said Eni CEO Descalzi.

The Algerian Government noted that the Berkine Basin contract was the first ever signed under the aegis of the new Algerian oil law and covers an area of 7,880 square kilometres in the southern part of the Berkine Basin, in close proximity to the company's current production assets.

More E&P

Descalzi and Hakkar stated that they shared the commitment to create an ambitious exploration and development programme in the area.

“In the first phase, the project envisages the fast-tracked development of reserves estimated at 135 million barrels of oil equivalent, with a start-up of production expected by the end of 2022,” it added.

“This project will enhance synergies with existing plants. The entry into force of the new contract is subject to approval by the competent Algerian authorities,” they stated.

Eni has been present in Algeria since 1981 and is the operator of various permits with an equity production in the country of 95,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Eni also recently agreed earlier in December 2021 to sell a minority stake in two pipelines involved in transporting natural gas from Algeria to Italy for €385 million ($435M) to Italian LNG terminal and gas grid operator Snam.

Eni said that deal involved Snam purchasing a 49.9 percent stake in the onshore gas pipelines running from Algeria to the Tunisia border and the Tunisia coast (TTPC), and the offshore gas pipelines connecting the Tunisian coast to Italy (TMPC).

Eni said the transaction would create synergies in the respective areas of expertise in gas transport on a strategic route for the security of the natural gas supply to Italy.

Snam said the deal consolidated Snam’s central role in Italy’s security of supply as well as in energy transport from the Mediterranean region.

Snam operates the gas grid and the onshore Panigaglia facility in the northwest near Genoa as well as having a 49 percent stake in the LNG facility, the “FSRU Toscana”, which is deployed off the Italian west coast.

Algeria’s Minister of Energy and Mines Mohamed Arkab has held face-to-face talks in Algiers with Total Chairman and Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanné for discussions including future liquefied natural gas projects.

French energy major Total has signed an agreement to renew its partnership in the field of liquefied natural gas with the North African state of Algeria as Italian energy company Eni also advances with projects.

The accord between Total and Algerian oil and gas company Sonatrach allows the extension of the existing supply contracts for three additional years.

This will provide 2 million tonnes per annum of Algerian LNG to the French market, primarily through the LNG import terminal at Fos Cavaou, located east of the Mediterranean port of Marseilles.

Total said that the agreement also included the sub-charter of one of its LNG carriers to Sonatrach.

“This agreement is part of the long history of cooperation between Total and Sonatrach,” said Laurent Vivier, President for gas at Total.

“Thanks to the quality of our relationship we were able to conclude it in an extremely volatile market environment,” added Vivier.

“This new contract further enhances the flexibility of Total's LNG portfolio and strengthens our position as a major partner of Sonatrach,” he stated.

Total noted it was a historic player in the energy sector in Algeria for almost 70 years.

The group is active in oil and gas exploration and production, participating interests in the TFT II and Timimoun gas fields and in the oil fields of the Berkine Basin in southeast Algeria.

In addition, Total and Sonatrach have launched engineering studies for a petrochemical project in Western Algeria.

Algerian LNG exports have been falling and in the most recent official annual figures dropped by over 18 percent to about 10 million tonnes compared with 12.34MT the previous year from its two liquefaction plants at Skikda and Arzew on the Mediterranean Coast.

Italian energy company Eni and Sonatrach have completed the construction of the natural gas pipeline connecting the Bir Rebaa Nord and Menzel Ledjmet Est fields in the Berkine Basin.

The completion comes as Algeria is making three-pronged marketing efforts to direct new gas finds into domestic industry, for export as pipeline gas to Europe and as LNG to mostly European markets amid low prices and high global volumes.

The new Berkine Basin pipeline is 185 kilometres in length and 16 inches in diameter and will transport capacity of 7 million standard cubic metres of gas per day to markets.


That project will allow for the export of the associated gas produced in Block 403 and the development of the gas fields of the blocks of North Berkine, where the drilling of the first four wells have already been completed and linked.

Sonatrach has been increasing the capacity of its export infrastructure like the Medgaz gas pipeline to Spain, and building a new LNG jetty at the Skikda liquefaction plant.

French energy major Total said it would not complete the purchase of the African assets in Algeria and Ghana of Occidental Petroleum of the US, while it has finalized the acquisition of Mozambique LNG and a South African offshore licence under the same original deal.

Italian energy company Eni and Sonatrach, the Algerian state-run company and LNG producer, have completed the construction of the natural gas pipeline connecting the Bir Rebaa Nord and Menzel Ledjmet Est fields in the Berkine Basin in southeast Algeria.