• Algeria is the second-largest total liquid fuels producer and the largest natural gas producer in Africa, based on EIA’s estimated 2024 production levels. Algeria has been a member of OPEC since 1969, about 10 years after the country first began producing crude oil. Algeria is also a participant in the OPEC+ agreement.¹
• Algeria imports very little energy because its domestic consumption is met by domestic oil and natural gas production, which is heavily subsidized. Natural gas and oil account for almost all of Algeria's total primary energy consumption.

 

 

Hydrocarbon Exploration

• In October 2024, the Algerian government launched a licensing round for six onshore exploration blocks located in the Berkine and Illizi basins (located in eastern Algeria near the Libyan border); the Reggane, Gourara Timimoun, and Ahnet Gourara basins (located in central Algeria); and the Hassi R’Mel Hub (located in central Algeria about 340 miles south of Algiers). The licensing round is part of the government’s initiative to boost upstream exploration and development, with four additional licensing rounds to be scheduled annually until 2028.²

Petroleum and other liquids

• Algeria’s oil fields produce high-quality, light, sweet crude oil with a very low sulfur content. The country's main crude oil grade is the Sahara blend (API gravity of 43.2° and sulfur content of 0.10%), which is produced at fields in the Hassi Messaoud region.³
• Algeria’s total liquid fuels production has steadily declined over the past decade. In 2023, total liquid fuels production was about 1.4 million barrels per day (b/d), down from 1.7 million b/d in 2014. Most of Algeria’s total liquid fuels production is made up of crude oil and lease condensate. The downward trend in total liquid fuels production is the result of a lack of significant new oil discoveries and declining output from its maturing fields, which require enhanced oil recovery techniques to maintain production levels. Although natural gas production has increased in the past decade, it has been increasingly exported rather than reinjected to support liquid fuels production (Figure 2).⁴

Refining

• Sonatrach, Algeria’s state-owned oil company, solely owns and operates Algeria’s refineries, which were mostly built between the 1960s and the 1980s. The Adrar refinery and the condensate splitter at the Skikda refinery were built in 2007 and 2009, respectively.⁵ A number of proposals were made in 2012 to construct new refineries and to expand existing ones, but progress was delayed for years. According to the Middle East Economic Survey, the Algerian government awarded an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract to Técnicas Reunidas and Samsung Engineering in January 2020 for one of three proposed refineries, the Hassi Messaoud refinery. Construction of the refinery reportedly began in February 2025 and is scheduled to come online in 2027. Proposals to construct the other two refineries, the Biskra and Tiaret refineries, have reportedly stalled and are unlikely to come online (Table 2).⁶

Natural Gas

• Natural gas produced in Algeria primarily comes from its largest field, the Hassi R’Mel field, as well as other maturing legacy natural gas fields that have been producing for decades. Dry natural gas production in Algeria averaged about 3.3 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) between 2014 and 2023, and dry natural gas consumption averaged 1.6 Tcf over the same time period. In 2020, both natural gas production and consumption fell as the COVID-19 pandemic limited mobility and economic activity in the country. Natural gas production returned to pre-pandemic levels in 2021 as COVID-19 restrictions eased, reaching a record high of 3.7 Tcf in 2023. The increase was further supported by upstream investments that brought online a number of new project startups and expansions, especially at Hassi R’Mel. Moreover, a reduced need for natural gas reinjection in oil fields, as a result of lower crude oil production, freed up more natural gas for domestic use and export. The disruption to natural gas trade between Russia and Europe after the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022 led European govenrments to seek alternative sources of natural gas, like Algeria. The increased natural gas demand in Europe, which is Algeria’s primary export market by volume, gave Algeria incentive to increase natural gas production for commercial export (Figure 3).⁷

 

• According to the latest estimates by the World Bank Group’s Global Flaring and Methane Reduction Partnership, Algeria flared approximately 289 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of natural gas in 2023, making it the sixth-highest flaring country by volume (Figure 4).⁸

Coal

• Algeria does not produce any coal and consumes very small amounts of coal, averaging 24,000 short tons per year from 2014 to 2023 (Figure 5). ⁹

 

Electricity

• In 2023, Algeria’s electricity net consumption was about 86 gigawatthours (GWh), which is about a 61% increase from electricity net consumption a decade earlier. Algeria also had installed electricity generation capacity of 22.6 gigawatts (GW) and generated 96.3 GWh of electricity. Nearly all (97%) of Algeria’s installed generation capacity is fossil fueled. The remaining capacity is hydroelectricity or other renewable sources. Algeria’s installed capacity grew by about 42% over the past decade. Additions of natural gas-fired or combined-cycle natural gas turbine power plants, which generate electricity more efficiently relative to Algeria’s older power plants, propelled most of this growth (Figure 6 and Figure 7).¹⁰

 

 

• Algeria has renewable energy potential along its relatively long coastline on the Mediterranean Sea, which is suitable for wind, while desert regions offer significant solar power potential. Algeria has 13 hydropower plants, mainly located in the northern parts of the country, where rainfall is relatively plentiful. Although the share of renewable energy in the generation mix remains limited, renewable generation capacity, particularly solar, has increased by nearly 1 GW from 2014 to 2023.¹¹
• The Algerian government is accelerating development of renewable energy as part of its 2020 Five-Year Development Plan to diversify its energy mix and prioritize more hydrocarbon resources for export. In addition to setting renewable energy targets at 15 GW of installed renewable energy capacity by 2035, the government also established a new ministry and national renewable energy company to oversee and implement the plan and to implement regulatory reforms to promote investment in renewable energy projects.¹²
• To achieve its renewable energy targets, the government has sought to attract foreign investment in renewable energy projects and has made progress in recent years. For example, in March 2024, Turkish firm Özgün Ínşaat began constructing the Hassi Delaa solar power plant in Laghouat, which will add about 362 megawatts (MW) of capacity when completed in late 2025 or early 2026. In September 2024, a consortium of China International Water & Electric Corporation and China Nuclear Industry Huaxing Construction began constructing five solar power projects with a combined capacity of 780 MW.¹³

Energy Trade

• According to the latest estimates by EIA and Global Trade Tracker, Algeria exported an average of 532,000 b/d of crude oil between 2015 and 2024. Crude oil exports declined about 196,000 b/d over the 10-year period as a result of Algeria’s declining crude oil production. In 2024, Algeria exported about 402,000 b/d of crude oil and condensate; Europe received most of those exports by volume (295,000 b/d) for the year. Countries in Asia Pacific imported about 72,000 b/d of Algeria’s crude oil and condensate. South Korea (33,000 b/d) and India (24,000 b/d) were the highest and second-highest regional importers from Algeria, respectively (Figure 8 and Figure 9).¹⁴

 

• Algeria trades petroleum products through its maritime ports, although its import volumes are relatively small compared with its export volumes. According to seaborne trade flow estimates by Vortexa, Algeria exported an average of 563,000 b/d of petroleum products between 2020 and 2024. Nearly all of Algeria’s petroleum product exports over this period (96%) were fuel oil, liquefied petroleum gas, and naphtha. Algeria imported an average of about 32,000 b/d of petroleum products during the same period, primarily bitumen and biodiesel (Figure 10 and Figure 11).¹⁵

 

 

• Algeria exports natural gas that is not used for domestically. Algeria exported an average of about 1.7 Tcf of natural gas between 2014 and 2023 (Figure 12).¹⁶

 

• Algeria is among the top African liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporters and primarily exports its LNG to Europe. Algeria has two operational LNG terminals in Arzew and Skikda, which are owned and operated by Sonatrach. In February 2022, Sonatrach signed a contract with Sinopec to expand and upgrade the Skikda LNG terminal by increasing its storage capacity and modernizing its port facilities to accommodate larger vessels (Table 3).¹⁷

 

• There are three major intercontinental pipelines currently operating in Algeria that export natural gas to Europe: the Enrico Mattei (Transmed) pipeline, the Medgaz pipeline, and the Maghreb-Europe (MEG) pipeline.¹⁸
• Two additional regional pipelines, the Gasdotto-Algeria Sardegna-Italia (GALSI) pipeline and the Trans-Saharan Gas pipeline (TSGP), have been proposed, but no final investment decision has been announced. In June 2022, the energy ministers from Niger, Nigeria, and Algeria signed a memorandum of understanding to set up a task force for the TSGP that aimed to update the existing feasibility study. If built, the TSGP could transport piped natural gas from Nigeria to Algeria’s Hassi R’Mel field, where natural gas could be transported to Europe via Algeria’s intercontinental pipelines.¹⁹ Negotiations regarding the development of the GALSI pipeline project, which originally aimed to deliver natural gas to Italy, are in early stages (Table 4).²⁰

 

• According to the Energy Institute’s 2024 Statistical Review of World Energy, Algeria exported about 1.9 Tcf of natural gas in 2023, most of which went to Europe. About 672 Bcf of natural gas was exported as LNG, and the remaining 1.2 Tcf was shipped via pipeline (Figure 13).²¹

 

• Algeria imports all the coal it consumes, nearly all of which was metallurgical coal. Algeria imports marginal amounts of bituminous coal (Figure 14). ²²

 

• Algeria participates in electricity trade as both an importer and exporter. Algeria imported an average of about 0.5 GWh and exported an average of about 1.2 GWh from 2014 to 2023. Algeria has enough electricity supply to meet its domestic consumption, given its substantial natural gas reserves and the predominant use of natural gas in power generation. Algeria’s electricity exports are limited by its electric transmission capacity. Algeria has been exploring options to expand electricity trade, and in July 2024, state-owned Sonantrach and Sonelgaz signed a memorandum of understanding with Eni to conduct a feasibility study for a submarine electricity interconnector that would enable Algeria to export electricity to Italy and other European markets (Figure 15).²³

Endnotes

1. Sean Hill and Owen Comstock, “What is OPEC+ and how is it different from OPEC?” Today in Energy, U.S. Energy Information Administration, December 18, 2023. “Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, UAE, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman reaffirm commitment to market stability on current healthy oil market fundamentals and adjust production upwards,” press release, Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, May 3, 2025.
2. Aydin Calik, “Algeria eyes 20bn /yr new gas output from bid round,” Argus Media, August 11, 2024. “Algeria’s Bid Round 2024 ignites new hope as decade-long wait ends,” Rystad Energy, December 2, 2024. Tom Pepper, ed. Luke Johnson, “Algeria Seeks to Unlock Foreign Upstream Investment,” Energy Intelligence, October 24, 2024. Tom Pepper, ed. Deb Kelly, “Algeria Launches Hydrocarbons Auction, Signs Hydrogen Deals,” Energy Intelligence, October 14, 2024. “Algeria unveils six onshore blocks to upstream investors,” World Oil, November 11, 2024. “Algeria’s Strategic Licensing Round: Unlocking Energy Potential,” BMI Country Risk & Industry Research, Fitch Solutions Group Ltd., January 22, 2025. Mostefa Ouki, “North Africa Gas: Producers aim to preserve export role,” OIES Energy Comment, The Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, January 2025. For more on Algeria’s hydrocarbons legal framework, please see International Energy Agency, “Law No. 19-13 – Law governing hydrocarbon activities,” June 28, 2022. International Energy Agency, “Law No. 05-07 – Law governing hydrocarbon activities,” February 22, 2022. Mehdi S Haroun and Nora Djeraba, “Overview of the New Algerian Hydrocarbons Law,” Energy Law Exchange, King & Spalding LLP, March 13, 2020. International Trade Administration, “Algeria Hydrocarbon Laws,” Market Intelligence, February 25, 2020.
3. “Platts Periodic Table of Oil,” S&P Global, Commodity Insights, January 2025, accessed May 13, 2025.
4. U.S. Energy Information Administration, International Energy Statistics database, accessed May 20, 2025. “Who is emerging as Europe’s key energy supplier amid global tensions?” Rystad Energy, July 8, 2024. “Algeria Oil & Gas Report: Q1 2025,” BMI Country Risk & Industry Research, Fitch Solutions Group Ltd., October 2024. “Algeria Petrochemicals Report: Q1 2025,” BMI Country Risk & Industry Research, Fitch Solutions Group Ltd., October 2024. International Trade Administration, “Algeria — Oil & Gas,” Country Commercial Guide, accessed March 17, 2025.
5. “Algeria Finally Advances Major Refinery Project,” Middle East Economic Survey, Vol. 63, Issue 02, January 10, 2020.
6. “Construction of a new refinery in Hassi Messaoud: Larbaoui lays the foundation stone for the project,” Algeria Invest, February 26, 2025. Wil Crisp, “Algeria cancels $1.3bn refinery contract and makes new award,” Middle East Business Intelligence, December 6, 2024. “Algeria’s Hassi Messaoud Refinery: Progress At Last?” Middle East Economic Survey, Vol. 67, Issue 34, August 23, 2024. “Algeria Looks To Cut Costs On New Refinery,” Middle East Economic Survey, Vol. 66, Issue 21, May 26, 2023. “Sonatrach To Can Planned $3.7bn Refinery?” Middle East Economic Survey, Vol. 66, Issue 16, April 21, 2023. “Algeria Finally Advances Major Refinery Project,” Middle East Economic Survey, Vol. 63, Issue 02, January 10, 2020. “Hassi Messaoud Oil Refinery Project,” NS Energy Business, August 10, 2020. “Algeria Eyes Refinery Bidders As Gasoline, Diesel Consumption Dips,” Middle East Economic Survey, Vol. 60, Issue 08, February 24, 2017. “Algeria Oil & Gas Report: Q1 2025,” BMI Country Risk & Industry Research, Fitch Solutions Group Ltd., October 2024. “Algeria Petrochemicals Report: Q1 2025,” BMI Country Risk & Industry Research, Fitch Solutions Group Ltd., October 2024.
7. U.S. Energy Information Administration, International Energy Statistics database, accessed January 6, 2025. Victoria Zaretskaya, “Europe imported record amounts of liquefied natural gas in 2022,” Today in Energy, U.S. Energy Information Administration, June 14, 2022. Victoria Zaretskaya and Warren Wilczewski, “Russia’s natural gas pipeline exports to Europe decline to almost 40-year lows,” Today in Energy, U.S. Energy Information Administration, August 9, 2022. Mostefa Ouki, “Italy and its North African gas interconnections: A potential Mediterranean gas ‘hub’?” OIES Energy Comment, The Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, March 2023. “Algeria’s Gas Output Turnaround,” Middle East Economic Survey, Vol. 64, Issue 20, May 21, 2021. “Algeria: Record Gas Output,” Middle East Economic Survey, Vol. 64, Issue 29, July 23, 2021. “Algeria’s Gas Burn Surges Amid Record Power Demand,” Middle East Economic Survey, Vol. 64, Issue 38, September 24, 2021. “Algeria Smashes Gas Output Record For 2021, Can It Keep Up?” Middle East Economic Survey, Vol. 65, Issue 12, March 25, 2022.
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10. U.S. Energy Information Administration, International Energy Statistics database, accessed October 25, 2024. “Algeria Adding Powergen Capacity, But Big CCGT Progress Piecemeal,” Middle East Economic Survey, Vol. 62, Issue 28, July 12, 2019. “Algeria Sees Power Efficiency Leap As CCGTs Ramp Up,” Middle East Economic Survey, Vol. 63, Issue 42, October 16, 2020.
11. U.S. Energy Information Administration, International Energy Statistics database, accessed January 15, 2025. “Algeria Powers Ahead with Huge Renewable Energy Plans,” International Energy Forum, June 21, 2021. International Trade Administration, “Algeria – Renewable Energy: Current Market Trends,” Energy Resource Guide, accessed March 13, 2025.
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13. Matthew Goosen, “Algeria’s Strategic Energy Vision: A Roadmap for Modernization and Diversification,” Energy Capital & Power, January 20, 2025. “Algeria Renewables: Set For Take-Off At Last?” Middle East Economic Survey, Vol. 67, Issue 41, October 11, 2024.
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19. Martina Schwikowski, “African countries seek to revive Sahara gas pipeline,” DW, August 12, 2022. Ali Boukhlef, “Algeria: The Trans-Saharan pipeline, a Nigerian alternative to Russian gas?” Middle East Eye, September 10, 2022. International Trade Administration, “Algeria Trans Saharan Gas Pipeline,” Market Intelligence, September 22, 2022. “Dreams Of A Trans-Saharan Gas Route To Europe,” Middle East Economic Survey, Vol. 65, Issue 33, August 19, 2022. Daniel Onyango, “Algeria and Niger Push to Revive Trans-Sahara Gas Pipeline,” Pipeline Technology Journal, October 2, 2024. Anne Laure Klein, “Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline: What it Means for West Africa,” Energy Capital & Power, February 5, 2024. Abdulwaheed Sofiullahi, “Problems mount for Sahara gas pipeline, leaving Nigerian taxpayers at risk,” Climate Home News, February 14, 2024. Francis Ghilés, “As North African energy links are redrawn, Italy becomes Europe’s southern gas hub,” Barcelona Center for International Affairs, July 2022.
20. Hacene Houicha, Dalila Henache, “Will Algeria-Italy Galsi Pipeline Be Revived?” echoroukonline.com, October 17, 2022. “Algeria: Energy Minister Arkab relaunches the hypothesis of the Galsi pipeline project with Italy,” Agenzia Nova, December 20, 2022. “GALSI Pipeline,” Global Energy Monitor, December 4, 2024. Mostefa Ouki, “Italy and its North African gas interconnections: A potential Mediterranean gas ‘hub’?” OIES Energy Comment, The Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, March 2023.
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