Reggane Nord Gas Project, Algeria

Reggane Nord is an operational onshore natural gas project located in Algeria, around 1,500km from the capital of Algiers.

The project is operated by the Groupement Reggane Nord (GRN), a consortium comprising Algeria’s national state-owned oil company Sonatrach (40%), Repsol (36%), and Wintershall Dea (24%).

The total development cost for the onshore gas project is estimated to be approximately $3bn.

Construction works began in 2014 and first gas from the Reggane Nord gas field was achieved in December 2017.

In the first 12 years, production from Reggane Nord is expected to stabilise at 8 million cubic metres/day of gas.

As of October 2023, around 13 billion cubic metres of gas have been produced in the consortium.

The onshore gas project is expected to be in production at least until 2041.

Reggane Nord Location and Composition

The Reggane Nord field is located in the located in the Reggane basin of the Algerian Sahara Desert.

The project comprises six gas fields across an 1,800km² area. They are Reggane, Kahlouche, Sali, Southeast Azrafil, South Kahlouche and Tiouliline. The fields form part of permissions granted for Blocks 351C and 352C.

Overall, the fields are expected to produce a total of more than 1.5 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of gas.

Reggane Nord Project Background Details

Reggane Nord (Blocks 351c and 352c) was awarded in July 2002 followed by its ratification in January 2003.

A final investment decision on the project was made in 2009 and the project development plan was approved in November 2011.

The Algerian national agency Agence Nationale pour the L’expertise des Hydrocarbures Resources (ALNAFT) granted the authorisation to the consortium to develop the Reggane Nord project in February 2012.

The 3D seismic surveys covering an area of 1,450km² were completed for the project in April 2014.

In October 2023, Wintershall Dea increased its participating interest in the Reggane Nord natural gas project by 4.5% to 24%. The company acquired the additional stake from Edison for around $100m.

Reggane Nord Development Details

The onshore gas project targeted gas bearing Devonian and Carboniferous sandstones in the Reggane basin.

It was brought into production with the drilling of up to 26 wells from four fields in the Reggane basin (Reggane, Kahlouche, Kahlouche South and Azrafil Southeast),

According to a preliminary estimate, a total of 104 wells will be distributed throughout the six development areas that include Reggane, Kahlouche, Sali, Southeast Azrafil, South Kahlouche, and Tiouliline.

The six fields will produce from Palaeozoic clastic reservoirs.

The project development included a central processing facility to process gas received from the six fields, a gas accumulation system; approximately 209km of gas collecting systems; infrastructure including a runway, electrical systems; 160km of roads and a 74km long pipeline connecting the project to Algeria’s export facilities.

The gas field is expected to produce for 25 years.

Contractors Involved

In May 2014, Petrofac, an oil and gas services provider, secured a 36-month, $970m contract for the gas gathering, treatment and export facilities package (EPCCS1) of the Reggane Nord Development Project.

Petrofac’s scope of work included engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning and start-up (EPCCS) of the gas treatment plant, gathering system and export pipeline for the project.

Salticom won a contract for the design, engineering, supply and commissioning of the RPS (Radio Propagation Study) for a 09-site Tetra system to cover 120km pipelines, CPF area and BDV; engineering and supply of an access control system (ACS) and TDMA/DMR radio system; and delivery of VHF-AM radio system among others.

Lead, an industrial construction company, carried out construction and pre-commissioning work including civil, mechanical, piping, pipeline, electrical, instrumentation and telecom works for the Reggane Nord project.