Algeria’s Sonatrach signs energy agreements with Eni

Algerian state oil and gas company Sonatrach and Italian energy group Eni on Tuesday signed agreements on hydrocarbons and energy transition, Sonatrach said in a statement.

The first agreement is a $1.4 billion exploration and production contract in the Berkine Basin area in southeastern Algeria for the production of 45,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, Sonatrach said.

The contract covers a total area of 7,880 square km in the southern part of the Berkine Basin, where Sonatrach and Eni have been operating since 2013.

The second agreement for cooperation in the energy transition sector aims “to strengthen the existing technological cooperation and to pursue efforts to reduce the carbon footprint”, according to Sonatrach.

The agreement will focus on the joint development of renewable and new energies, particularly in production of solar energy, lithium prospecting, biofuels and hydrogen production, Sonatrach added.