India and Algeria have signed a joint oil and gas exploration pact covering the Illizi Basin in the southeastern region of Algeria, the Indian foreign office said Thursday.
"India and Algeria have signed a memorandum of understanding to study the possibilities within the next six months for the joint development of blocks in the Illizi basin," the office said in a statement.
The pact was signed in Algiers by Abdelhak Bouhafs, chairman of the Algerian oil and gas company Sonatrach, and Atul Chandra, managing director of India's state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Videsh Ltd.
"If the negotiations prove successful the project would involve a total investment of nearly 400 million dollars," the statement added.
Algeria, which produces around 811,000 barrels of crude daily, is among the smaller nations in the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Hydrocarbons account for some 95 percent of the northern African country's revenues. India imports nearly 70 percent of its oil needs.
With a population of more than one billion, India's per capita petroleum consumption is just 113 kilograms (250 pounds) each year, compared to the world average of 927 kilograms.—AFP.
©--Agence France Presse 2001.
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
