Output at the BP and Equinor-led In Salah gas project in Algeria fell to just 480mn cfd for 2020, down 43% on 2019’s 690mn cfd and its lowest level since start up in 2004, according to MEES calculations (see chart 1).
This comes just two years after a 2016 expansion project ramped up to hit a record 810mn cfd for 2018. Why the slump? Although demand for Algerian gas collapsed during the worst of the pandemic (MEES, 26 June 2020), the sheer size of the fall in output, Q2’s 200mn cfd in particular (MEES, 24 July 2020), suggests that upstream issues could also have played a role. Thankfully, output rebounded strongly in the fourth quarter to hit 610mn cfd – more than triple Q2 output. (CONTINUED - 230 WORDS)
