Sonatrach receives bids from 10 international oil companies

Algerian state oil and gas company Sonatrach has received bids from 10 international oil companies to develop and market 255 bn cm of Algeria's natural gas reserves, a Sonatrach spokesman said.
"We have received 10 technical offers from companies and consortiums for the Gassi Touil project and their evaluation is underway," the spokesman told.

The project is central to Algeria's goal of boosting exports by about 37 % to 85 bn cmpy by 2005, from 62 bn cmpy currently. Foreign companies play a key role in Algeria's plans - indeed, many of the bidders are already involved in other projects with Sonatrach, such as the In Salah project in the Sahara involving BP, and the Ohanet gas project involving Australia's BHP Billiton.
The bidders include two US companies -- Anadarko Petroleum and Occidental Petroleum, and six European companies -- Anglo-Dutch Shell, Norway's Statoil, Italy's Agip, France's TotalFinaElf, Spain's Compania Espanola de Petroleos SA or Cepsa, and BP, Algeria's largest foreign investor. The remaining competitors are BHP and a consortium of US and French companies which includes Gaz de France and ConocoPhillips.

Last year, the Algerian government launched an international auction to draw foreign investors to its Gassi Touil integrated gas project. Work on the project includes developing six gas fields, constructing liquefaction facilities, installing a pipeline network to funnel gas to Skikda and Arzew, the country's Mediterranean export hubs, and marketing the gas.
Sonatrach's experts will soon put together the final plans for Gassi Touil, such as the project design and the contractual terms under which bidders will be asked to submit an economic offer, the spokesman added. Gassi Touil is located near the country's huge Berkine oil basin in southeast Algeria.