Algeria to Boost 2016 Oil Output, Offer Rights Amid Global Glut
- State producer plans oil, gas bidding round in first quarter
- Auction terms adjusted to improve on 2014 bid round, VP says
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Algeria’s state oil producer Sonatrach Group plans to raise crude output by 5 percent next year and offer energy-exploration rights to foreign companies by the end of March, steps that may add barrels to an oversupplied global market.
Algeria, Africa’s biggest natural-gas producer, is seeking to attract international companies to an auction of rights to develop oil and gas fields, including those with hard-to-reach tight deposits, Salah Mekmouche, Sonatrach vice president of exploration and production, said in an interview in Algiers. State petroleum regulator Alnaft will organize the bidding round, taking into consideration feedback from foreign companies to improve on the results of the country’s last auction in 2014, he said.