In October 2026, the oil and gas market in Algeria, a North African energy powerhouse, is undergoing a profound transformation. In the past, the focus of Chinese companies going global was mostly on acquiring oil and gas block resources. However, with a number of upstream exploration and development projects landing one after another, drilling equipment, oilfield technology services, and refining engineering orders continue to be released. A complete oil and gas industry chain covering exploration, drilling, oil and gas production, refining and deep processing is accelerating its formation on the North African continent. From upstream block acquisition to downstream refinery general contracting, Chinese companies have established a complete oil and gas engineering service chain in Algeria.

Upstream blocks continue to be implemented

The cooperation between Sinopec and Sonatrach, the Algerian national oil company, is a landmark project for Chinese enterprises to deeply cultivate local upstream resources. In 2025, Sinopec and Sonatrach signed a Hassi Berkane North production sharing contract, planning to invest approximately $850 million in exploration and development work for the block. Looking back at the 2024 oil and gas bidding rounds in Algeria, a total of 5 oil and gas contracts were landed in this round, of which 2 were awarded to Chinese companies. Sinopec successfully won the Guern El Guessarl block, and CNPC won the Zerafa II block. In April 2026, Algeria will launch seven new oil and gas blocks, with the bidding deadline set for November 26th. The contract signing is expected to be completed in January 2027, and a huge market window is opening up to Chinese oil service and engineering companies.

Equipment orders are being released one after another

After the signing and implementation of the upstream block, the supporting engineering orders followed closely behind. The Zerafa II project of Zhongman Petroleum has been approved for the annual work plan in 2026, and the seismic data processing and environmental impact assessment contracts have been initiated. The next step will be to promote geological research, drilling, and procurement of supporting services. In April 2026, Korui Petroleum successfully won the bid for the ENTP multi drilling rig project of the Algerian National Drilling Company, with a contract amount exceeding 750 million yuan. This order vividly demonstrates the complete industrial transmission path: oil and gas block signing, exploration and evaluation, drilling construction, drilling equipment and oilfield service procurement, and upstream oil and gas investment continues to be transmitted to downstream domestic equipment manufacturing enterprises. Keywords: the Belt and Road news network, international, oil and gas, exploration, refining

Deep penetration into refining engineering

In addition to the development of new blocks, the market for stable production and transformation of old gas fields also contains massive engineering opportunities. China Petroleum Engineering Construction Corporation (CPECC) has won the EPC general contracting project for the third phase of the Alrar gas field booster project, with a contract amount of 210 million US dollars. The project will build three new natural gas compressor units, complete with booster pumps, electrical and control systems, to ensure that the Alrar gas field maintains a stable production capacity of 1 million cubic meters of natural gas per day. In 2025, a Chinese consortium formed by CAIEC and SLPI won two pipeline service contracts to provide intelligent detection services for five local natural gas long-distance pipelines, with a total length of 3576 kilometers. In November 2025, Sinopec Guangzhou Engineering won the EPC contract for heavy naphtha hydrogenation and CCR reforming unit at Arzew Refinery, with a project amount of approximately 450 million US dollars and a construction period of 30 months, marking the official entry of Chinese oil and gas companies into the North African refining and deep processing track. Overall, the Algerian oil and gas market will usher in three core order windows: Zerafa II block is about to release drilling and oilfield service procurement demand, a new round of bidding for seven oil and gas blocks will bring bulk orders, and the Alrar gas field and Arzew refinery general contracting project will drive equipment delivery, construction subcontracting, and operation and maintenance service demand to continue to be released. The previous model of simply acquiring resources by going abroad is becoming a thing of the past, and the coordinated operation of the entire industry chain is becoming a new way of competition.Editor/Gao Xue