In Algeria, Engie has announced that its southwest Touat upstream gas development is still on target to produce next year. The company declared this during a meeting with energy minister Noureddine Bouterfa (photo) in Algiers on November 14 to discuss about the gas sector, current relations between state Sonatrach and Engie, as well as prospects for further cooperation.

According to a statement from the ministry, both sides talked on the current state of the world gas market, business opportunities, and prospects for future investments in Algeria.

“At Engie level, we are still talking about 2017,” Engie’s spokesman told Natural Gas World.

The project, which is expected to reach its peak production of 4.5bm³/yr, involves the development of ten fields near the town of Adrar in southwest Algeria by a joint venture of Engie which holds 65% and Sonatrach with 35%. A former top ministerial adviser, Ali Aissaoui, in an Oxford Institute for Energy Studies report released in May this year, estimated that Touat will not come on stream until 2018 and that is part of the four big gas projects which involves international partners expected to have started up in 2016-2017 that are now expected on stream by 2018.

When first approved in 2012, Touat was expected to commence production in late 2016 but security issues and peaceful blockades by angry locals over jobs had slowed down progress.

Anita Fatunji