Algeria's Sonatrach oil company said it had signed an agreement with the Niger petroleum ministry to share production in Niger's Kafra region, according to a Sonatrach statement.
Sonatrach International Petroleum Exploration and Production, a subsidiary of the Algerian company, signed the agreement in Niger's capital.
Sonatrach's works in Kafra cover two exploration wells, with proven oil reserves of 168 million barrels and 400 million barrels.
In a related context, Algeria has agreed to resume operations in Libya, the chief executive of Sonatrach said.
The company is currently working with its partners in Libya to create safe conditions for its workers and equipment, Sonatrach's CEO Toufik Hakkar said.
Visits to Libya are planned before the end of February to negotiate Sonatrach's return, he added.
According to the weekly energy newsletter Middle East Economic Survey (MEES), Sonatrach was forced to abandon its exploration activities on the Libyan side of the Algeria-Libya border in 2014 due to the deteriorating security situation.
Sonatrach had made "a number of promising discoveries" up until that point, MEES reported in May.
Hakkar added that Sonatrach also intends to invest an estimated $40 billion in its energy sector between 2022 and 2026. "The largest share of these investments will be directed to exploration and production in order to maintain national production capabilities," Hakkar said.
Around 95 percent of the North African state's foreign revenues are from oil and gas sales.
In 2021, the state-oil firm exported hydrocarbons worth more than $34.5 billion, a 70 percent increase from the previous year, Hakkar added.
