HASSI MESSAOUD: Algeria has boosted output at two major oil fields, including the giant Hassi Messaoud field, an official at state energy firm Sonatrach said on Monday.
Production at Hassi Messaoud, 800 km (500 miles) southeast of the capital Algiers, has risen to 470,000 barrels from 420,000 barrels a few months ago, the Sonatrach source told Reuters on the sidelines of a conference.
Output at Ourhoud oil field, around 1,100 km southeast of Algiers, has risen to 125,000 barrels from 100,000 barrels, the source, who did not wish to be named, said.
The Ourhoud field is operated by Sonatrach and its associates Anadarko, Pertamina and Cepsa. "Algeria's top goal is to increase output by 30 percent by 2020," Energy Minister Nouredine Bouterfa told reporters in Hassi Messaoud.
Bouterfa has also said that Algeria will not wait for a tender in two years time, but will deal directly with international firms present in Algeria.
"We can't wait two years because we need to boost our output," Bouterfa said, adding that Algeria's current production is at 1.2 million barrels per day.
About 97 percent of Algeria's revenues are from hydrocarbon sales. The OPEC member is a key supplier of gas to Europe.
Sonatrach is struggling to raise hydrocarbon output to ease pressure from a crash in oil prices that slashed revenues by almost 50 percent.
Two bidding tenders in recent years failed to attract much interest, with oil executives saying that tough terms on production-sharing contracts and bureaucracy made the country a less attractive prospect.
Sonatrach is now focused on maximising output at its mature fields and seeking foreign partners for technology.
"We will dig 32 to 50 wells at Hassi Messaoud starting this year, versus only eight wells in 2013 and 2014," a senior Sonatrach manager told Reuters.
"We have used all the techniques including the 'Enhanced Oil Recovery' and the 'Water Alternating Gas' to boost production," he said.
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