Algeria's gas exports this year are expected to drop by 4.7 per cent, energy minister Abdelmadjid Attar said, hit by reduced demand from Europe and competition from cheaper U.S. supplies.
The North African country, which derives 95 per cent of its foreign revenue from oil and gas sales, is expected to export 41 billion cubic metres of gas this year, down from 43 billion cubic metre in 2019, the minister said.
Oil and gas revenues amounted to $33 billion in 2019 and is forecast to be $23 billion this year.
Total gas output will reach 126 billion cubic metres, versus 127 billion cubic metres in 2019, Attar said, with production hampered by ageing fields and lack of investment while domestic consumption has grown by 5.3 per cent per year since 2009 to reach 46 billion cubic metres last year.
Algeria last year passed an energy law aimed at making its oil and gas sectors a more attractive investment proposition but has yet to publish the specific regulations that will inform investment decisions.
