Algeria: Sonatrach delays Petroceltic’s Ain Tsila development

Petroceltic International, the formerly Dublin-based and London-listed exploration company, has run into difficulties with the Algerian authorities over a contract approval at its Ain Tsila development, formally scheduled for first gas in 2020. The company had hoped to award an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to build a gas plant at the site by the end of 2017, but this did not happen and delays are continuing. In early March, two statements on the company’s official Twitter feed blamed national oil and gas company Sonatrach for the hold-up.