Wintershall Dea buys out Edison’s stake in Algeria’s Reggane Nord gas project

German energy producer Wintershall Dea will acquire US energy service provider Edison’s 11.25 percent participating interest in the Reggane Nord natural gas project in Algeria, the company said.

The revamped consortium of Groupement Reggane Nord (GRN), operator of the project, will comprise Sonatrach (40 percent), Wintershall Dea (30.75 percent) and Repsol (29.25 percent) as a result of the agreement, Wintershall Dea said in a statement. The transaction is subject to customary approvals from Algerian authorities.

In the aftermath of the European energy crisis, several European energy companies have been keen to tap into the vast energy potential of Africa; especially in Algeria, for hydrogen, solar and wind power, and carbon capture and storage. Algeria is the third largest exporter of gas to Europe, after Russia and Norway; and is the largest natural gas producer in Africa.

Wintershall Dea first entered the Algerian market in 2002 and subsequently became a partner for the Reggane Nord project, which comprises six gas fields over an 1,800 km2 area in the southwest of the country. The operator GRN marked first gas in 2017 and the project is expected to be in production until at least 2041.

“Algeria holds great potential for natural gas production and future energy projects. That is why we want to grow our presence in Algeria and contribute to the development of its energy sector. Increasing our interest in the Reggane Nord project is a first step,” Dawn Summers, Chief Operating Officer and responsible board member for Middle East and North Africa, Wintershall Dea, said in a statement.

The agreement comes after Wintershall Dea and Sonatrach recently extended a Memorandum of Understanding to consider new business opportunities in gas production and low-carbon energy solutions.

“Wintershall Dea has always been an active partner in the Reggane Nord project, and we are pleased to strengthen our role. The project has been reliably producing low-cost natural gas since 2017 and has a long future securing energy supply in Algeria and the region,” Thomas Ruttmann, Senior Vice President and Managing Director for Algeria, Wintershall Dea, said in a statement.