Algeria ceases to be oil power

According to Bloomberg, the export of Algerian oil and gas fell by 30% in 2020.

Report informs with reference to Kommersant that the negative trend continued in 2021 as well. By the end of January, crude oil sales fell to 290,000 barrels per day, which is 36% less than in December and a record low since 2017. The agency cites miscalculations in the management of the country's oil and gas industry and insufficient investment in the sector as the reasons for this situation.

According to the Minister Delegate to the Algerian Prime Minister in charge of Foresight, Mohamed Cherif Belmihoub, such a sharp reduction in oil and gas exports may force Algeria to completely stop selling this product abroad within the next ten years.

"Algeria is no longer an oil country," the official told local radio. The problems are aggravated by the fact that to maintain a deficit-free state budget, Algeria, according to the IMF, needs an oil price of around $135 per barrel - higher than any other Arab country. But, now the price is about $60 per barrel.