The Curious Case Of Algeria’s Hassi R’Mel

20 Nov 2020 Issue: 63 / 47 By: Aydin Calik, James Cockayne

The supergiant Hassi R’Mel field accounts for close to half of Algeria’s gas output. But volumes have been in long-term decline. With a $2bn compression project led by JGC slated to breathe new life into Hassi R’Mel from early next year, MEES tries to make sense of the numbers for the enigmatic field.

Is production from Algeria’s supergiant Hassi R’Mel gas field 60 bcm/y, 70 bcm/y or 90 bcm/y? These numbers are just some examples of those given by state firm Sonatrach and high-level Algerian officials in recent years. But what is the true number?

One thing is clear – in terms of sales gas, even the low-end 60bcm figure is too high. Algeria’s total 2019 sales gas output was just 86.1bcm according to figures reported by the country’s authorities to Riyadh-based Jodi. (Though, this being Algeria, there are a variety of official stats to choose from – see chart 1. If MEES tends to favor the Jodi stats over the alternatives it is because of their relatively timely release, rather than any confidence in their inherent accuracy). (CONTINUED - 1269 WORDS)