Brussels, 20/05/2014 (Agence Europe) - The Algerian agency for renewable energies (CDER-DZ) has revealed that the EU has made a direct request to its government to provide gas supplies in the event of supply failures from Russia. The Algerian Portal for Renewable Energies, quoting Algerian Minister for Foreign Affairs Ramtane Lamamra, stated that “Algeria is expected to increase its contribution to supplies to Europe in hydrocarbons and help ensure its energy security”. The minister made the revelation to journalists accompanying him during a working visit to the Netherlands last week.
The minister also told the journalists accompanying him that “the Netherlands is very concerned” about the issue of Europe's energy security and has shown “a particular interest in enhancing Algeria's role in protecting security by increasing its supplies”. According to the Algerian Portal for Renewable Energies, “Algeria has its own goals and perspectives” and would be interested in “more investment, particularly in cutting edge technologies, so that the economic potential of the country is used to the full”.
The Algerian minister for foreign affairs said that the Europeans would understand Algeria's approach and that “controlling its own political and economic future is a proper approach for the Algerian people”.
The agency for renewable energy also published the contribution made by a recognised expert in energy economics, Professor Abderrahmane Mebtoul, who explained the limits to the country's energy resources and pointed out that, in a context of global crisis, the question is “not one of supply but of demand”. He pointed out that Algeria is “Europe's third biggest supplier of gas (13-15%) after Russia and Norway. It is still struggling to maintain volume export levels above the 60 billion cubic metres” exported between 2001 and 2008. He believes that “high prices are, in fact, hiding the reality of a fall in volume levels exported. The potential for exporting supplies remains dependent on developments affecting international costs and prices”. Professor Mebtoul said that thousands of gas fields would, thus, not be profitable and that their life cycle is “also determined both by the volume of exports and strong domestic consumption due to the low price of gas, which is one of the lowest levels in the world”
Potential would therefore be limited due to the expected growth in the country's domestic consumption. According to Professor Mebtoul this would be between “25- 30 billion cubic metres of gas and possibly reaching 50 billion cubic metres by 2017-2020”. He also stated that, “based on the hypothesis of exporting 85 billion cubic metres and 70 million cubic metres for domestic consumption, it would be necessary to produce between 155 billion cubic metres by 2017, which would require significant investment and would subsequently encroach on finances to the hydrocarbon sectors”.
Instead of competing with Russia, “which has one third of global conventional gas reserves, compared with 15% in Iran and 10% in Qatar”, he is proposing that there be “an agreement between Gazprom and Sonatrach”, the Algerian state-owned gas company. This alliance would be “necessary in order to avoid a sharp fall in prices that could be damaging to gas investments”. Without this, both Algeria and Russia would be in danger or experiencing, “significant concerns about their gas trade assets, especially from 2020 onwards”. (FB)