https://arab.news/n4uud
- Defense ministry said the MoU focuses on military cooperation
- Algeria national hydrocarbon agency Alnaft also strikes deal with Chevron to assess offshore oil
ALGIERS: Algeria signed a memorandum of understanding with the United States on Wednesday that focuses on military cooperation, its defense ministry said in a statement.
The MoU was signed during a meeting between Deputy Defense Minister Said Chengriha and Michael Langley, commander of the US Africa Command, the ministry added.
Also on Wednesday, Algeria signed an agreement with US energy giant Chevron aimed at assessing potential offshore oil resources in the Mediterranean, according to the country鈥檚 energy ministry.
The partnership was struck between the national hydrocarbon agency Alnaft and Chevron North Africa, the ministry said in a statement. The agreement, which will last two years, envisions an 鈥渋n-depth study to evaluate Algerian offshore oil resources鈥�, the statement said.
The deal could 鈥渙pen the way for exploration and development projects aimed at developing national hydrocarbon resources鈥�.
It is part of Alnaft鈥檚 鈥渆fforts to attract quality investments and step up technical capacity in the field of offshore exploration鈥�, the agency鈥檚 president, Mourad Beldjehem, was quoted as saying by Algeria鈥檚 official APS news agency.
In 2018, the country鈥檚 state-run hydrocarbon company Sonatrach signed two agreements with France鈥檚 Total and Italy鈥檚 ENI to assess potential offshore oil reserves.
The largest country in Africa, Algeria derives more than 90 percent of its foreign exchange receipts from hydrocarbons.