Sonatrach was keen to end the week on a positive note. On 26 October, state news agency APS reported that the national oil company had discovered a large deposit of oil in the Tamguid Messaoud region, estimated at 1.3bn barrels. Reports about discoveries by Sonatrach have become something of a regular occurrence of late, and they have not gone unnoticed by international oil companies with an interest in the country’s hydrocarbon deposits.

“In the last two weeks, there have been a lot of announcements from Sonatrach, and from the Ministry of Energy and Mining. In some cases, they are announcing projects three or four times,” says an executive at an IOC active in Algeria. “For me, this is a sign that they want to attract foreign investors.” (CONTINUED - 1039 WORDS)