ALGIERS, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- General Manager of Algerian state run energy firm Sonatrach, Abdelmoumen Ould Kaddour on Thursday revealed that the company is to invest 56 billion dollars in the upcoming five years.
Ould Kaddour further told reporters that this huge investment is part of the new strategy of Sonatrach until 2022.
This statement was given by Ould Kaddour on the sidelines of the visit he paid to the desert where he inaugurated the new GR5 gas pipeline which carries gas from Reggane gas fields to the GR5 compressor station over a distance of more than 700 kilometers, and with an annual capacity of 8.8 billion cubic meters.
"We are very proud of this project because it is built 100 percent by Algerian companies," he further added.
The statement of Ould Kaddour follows three presidential decrees relating to the approval of contracts for the exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons.
Algeria's economy depends on oil industry, as investments in the energy sector hit 90 billion dollars in the period 2015-2019, amid expectations to increase output to 225 million tons this year, compared to 195 million tons in 2013.
Algeria is aiming at augmenting its hydrocarbons investments in a bid to curb the financial crisis hitting the oil rich nation, due to the decline of crude prices in world markets, and the erosion of exchange reserves, which fell from about 200 billion dollars in 2014 to 97 billion dollars currently.
The government said it is due to accelerate the process of reviewing the hydrocarbons law in force since 2006 to attract more foreign investors and companies to explore new fields.
The Algerian economy relies heavily on oil and gas exports, which account for about 30 percent of the country's GDP, and about 95 percent of the country's total exports. Oil and gas exports also account for 40 percent of the country's revenues.
