ALGIERS, June 14 (Xinhua) -- Algeria's national oil company Sonatrach on Thursday renewed agreements with Spain's Fenosa for natural gas sales until 2030.
According to Sonatrach's statement, the agreements enable Sonatrach to consolidate its position as the leading gas supplier of Spain and strengthen its cooperation with its long-time partner Fenosa.
Sonatrach's CEO Abdelmoumen Ould Kaddour hailed the long-term partnership between the two companies, adding that "these agreements are an important step in Sonatrach's future positioning on the international gas market."
Algeria's TSA news site revealed that the contract has a value of 2.5 billion euro (2.9 billion U.S. dollars) per year, or 30 billion euro over the entire duration. Algeria accounts for about 50 percent of Spain's natural gas demand.
The commercial relations between Sonatrach and Fenosa began with LNG supplies in 1970s.
Sonatrach, which holds 4-percent-stake of Fenosa, is the fourth largest shareholder of the Spanish company.
A report of the World Bank ranked Algeria as the ninth biggest natural gas producer in 2014.
The Algerian economy relies heavily on oil and gas exports, which account for about 30 percent of the country's GDP, and about 95 percent of the country's total exports. Oil and gas exports also account for 40 percent of the country's revenues.
