Legal improvements brighten North Africa production outlook

Journal Article · Mon May 12 04:00:00 EDT 1997 · Oil and Gas Journal

OSTI ID:477479

North Africa`s three main oil producing countries soon will reap benefits of past moves by their governments to encourage investment by international companies. Production of crude oil and natural gas in Algeria, Egypt, and Libya is ready to increase from suppressed levels of the recent past, says International Energy Agency, Paris. The gains are possible despite political risks, total reserves accounting for only 4% of the world`s crude reserves, and oil prices well below levels of the 1980s, when the countries` flow rates peaked. The reason: producing oil in North Africa is profitable. In a recent study entitled North Africa Oil and Gas, IEA attributes the bright production outlook to improvements that the countries` governments have made in the past decade to hydrocarbon laws and the fiscal terms they offer international investors. According to announced plans, the three countries` combined capacity to produce crude oil will rise 18% by the year 2000 to 3.65 million b/d, and a further gain of 700,000 b/d is possible. IEA expects production capacity for natural gas to increase 50% from its 1995 level by 2000 to a combined 139.4 billion cu m/year. This paper discusses production capacities, Algeria`s record, improvements in Egypt, and Libya`s changes.

• OSTI ID: 477479
• Journal Information: Oil and Gas Journal, Journal Name: Oil and Gas Journal Journal Issue: 19 Vol. 95; ISSN OIGJAV; ISSN 0030-1388
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
03 NATURAL GAS
ALGERIA
COMPILED DATA
EGYPTIAN ARAB REPUBLIC
LIBYAN ARAB JAMAHIRIYA
NATURAL GAS
NATURAL GAS INDUSTRY
PETROLEUM
PETROLEUM INDUSTRY
PRODUCTION