Algeria Expects to Produce 30 Bcm of Shale Gas by 2020

Algeria’s state owned oil and gas firm, SONATRACH intends to produce 30 billion cubic metres of shale gas in the country by 2020, reports Algeria Press Service (APS).

"The tests carried out showed that the outputs are comparable to those obtained in the US shale gas fields producing commercial quantities," a source told the news agency Sunday.

According to the source, initial results have been very encouraging and the company expects to move rapidly towards pilot stage before starting effective production by the end of the decade.

Also on Sunday, country’s Minister of Town Planning and Environment, Dalila Boudjemaa said Algeria will use a new procedure based on less-polluting technologies to drill for the unconventional fuel.

At estimated 700 trillion cubic feet (TCF), Algeria hold world’s third largest technically recoverable shale gas reserves in its seven shale basin, according the International Energy Agency (IEA).