ALNAFT and Vietnam's PVEP have signed two 12-month technical study agreements for Bir El Aïssa and Rhourde El Baguel. The studies will look for ways to improve recovery from discovered resources; no investment amount or production increase has been announced.
On 6 October in Oran, Algeria's National Agency for the Valorization of Hydrocarbon Resources, ALNAFT, and Vietnam's state-owned PetroVietnam Exploration Production Corporation, PVEP, signed two 12-month study agreements. The studies cover Bir El Aïssa and Rhourde El Baguel in the Berkine Basin of southeastern Algeria. The signing took place at the 14th North Africa Energy and Hydrogen Exhibition and Conference, NAPEC 2026, Algeria Press Service reported.
The agreements set out technical assessments. They do not approve field upgrades, an investment decision or a new production project. The two companies will review available data and reservoir behavior, then consider options to improve recovery from resources already discovered. Algerian Radio reported that the studies will run for 12 months. It gave no financing amount, production-growth forecast or target recovery factor.
The work will assess whether practical measures could help optimize operations at the two fields. ALNAFT Director General Abdelkader Cherfaoui and Vietnam's Ambassador to Algeria, Phuc Duy Long, attended the signing. The ambassador called the agreements a concrete step toward stronger cooperation between Vietnamese and Algerian companies. He also described Algeria as an important African partner with room to expand energy ties, Algerian Radio reported.
As of 7 October, reports described the studies as newly launched. No findings, final investment decision or additional production had been reported.
A separate regional energy plan is still at the planning and feasibility stage. A report on the hydrogen corridor described a proposed route from Algeria to Europe. That proposal is separate from the PVEP studies, which concern existing hydrocarbon fields. The agreements do not show that new infrastructure or production has been approved.
European interest in Algeria also reaches beyond gas. United Kingdom Ambassador James Downer has said British companies and business groups are interested in Algeria's energy investment environment, including infrastructure and gas exploration. He pointed to technology and expertise transfer as part of potential long-term partnerships. Downer also named Clarke Energy among British companies interested in Algeria's energy resources, clean energy and transition.
European Union Ambassador and Head of Delegation Diego Mellado Pascua has called Algeria a strategic partner for Europe, particularly for gas supplies. He has also pointed to renewables and green hydrogen as areas for cooperation. One proposal would carry Algerian hydrogen to Europe through Tunisia. It remains separate from the PVEP studies and is not an outcome of the new agreements.
NAPEC 2026 ran from 5 to 7 October in Oran. More than 450 exhibitors and 230 speakers took part in discussions on energy security, decarbonization, the energy mix and hydrogen technologies, according to APS conference coverage. Companies from China, Italy and other countries also attended as Algeria sought to work with international partners across conventional and emerging energy sectors.
The next step is for the studies to determine whether technically credible ways exist to raise recovery at Bir El Aïssa and Rhourde El Baguel. Any commercial outcome will depend on the findings and on later decisions; the signing alone does not establish that production will increase.
