HE Minister Khelil has confirmed that he will be attending the Getenergy event in London between the 26th – 28th March. He will be coming to this meeting at the invitation of the UK Minister of Energy Malcolm Wicks MP to discuss multi-lateral co-operation on education and training for the upstream oil and gas industry.

Algeria’s National Oil Company, Sonatrach have been involved in Getenergy since its launch in Houston in March 2005. Sonatrach is a Learning Arena Sponsor for the event in London in March 2008 and will be bringing a significant delegation to attend the meeting as well as having stands in the Learning Arena themselves.

Background

Algeria has experienced a significant economic upturn in recent years. In 2006, Algeria’s real gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate was 4.0 percent. Oil and natural gas exports, which made up 98 percent of Algerian exports (by value) in 2006, are the main driver of Algerian economic growth. With continuing investments being made in Algerian oil and gas development, both sectors have potential for increasing production capacity over the next few years.