On the morning of June 17, 2025, Zhongman Petroleum and Natural Gas Group Co., Ltd., a private oil company listed in China, announced that it had successfully won the bid for the Algerian natural gas block exploration and development project through a product sharing contract model, which was the first time the company had carried out oil and gas exploration business in Africa. Algeria's National Hydrocarbon Resources Development Agency has awarded an exploration contract for its central Zerafa II block.

Zhongman Petroleum beat the international giant to win the Algerian super gas field

In the bid, the company beat out international energy giant TotalEnergies and a consortium of Italy's Eni and Statoil, the company said. In an interview with local media, Sun Qi, the bidding representative of Zhongman, said: "The winning of the bid for the Zerafa II project is a milestone for the company to implement the strategy of "simultaneous development of oil and gas", and in the future, the company will rely on the geographical advantages of Algeria to radiate the oil and gas cooperation network in North Africa and build a diversified supply system to ensure national energy security." "

Zhongman Petroleum's layout in North Africa helps national energy security

The Zerafa II block is located in central Algeria and is structurally located in the southern part of the Gourara-Timimoun Basin, the country's main gas-bearing basin, and the project is a PSC with a block area of 38,697.73 square kilometres. The winning bid has formed an oil and gas synergistic layout with the existing Xinjiang Wensu Project (oil and gas), Kazakhstan Tenge Project (light oil), Kazakhstan shore project (heavy oil and light oil), and Iraq MF/EBN project (light oil), which has greatly improved the company's ability to resist risks in the whole industry chain.

Zhongman Petroleum has expanded its global resource territory again, demonstrating its hard core strength

The block covers an area of 38,697.73 square kilometers and is located in the southern part of the basin of Algeria's main gas-bearing basin. As one of the few independent oil and gas companies in China, Zhongman Petroleum currently operates in China's Xinjiang region and Kazakhstan, without disclosing the exact amount of the investment. The company was granted mining rights to an exploration block in Iraq last year. Algeria, an OPEC member country, has the world's 10th proven natural gas reserves, and the Zerafa II project is located in the country's most potential oil and gas basin with broad resource prospects.(This article is from the official website of Seetao www.seetao.com. Reprinting without permission is strictly prohibited. Please indicate Seetao.com + original link when reprinting) Seetao.com Strategy Column Editor/Sun Fengjuan