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Friday, January 23, 2015
Algerians protesting the government’s plans to extract shale gas through the use of fracking have something to celebrate. According to an announcement by the North African country’s prime minister, Abdelmalek Sellal, the government has now shelved plans to tap shale gas reserves at this time.
“I confirm that the exploitation of shale gas is not the order of the day as for now Algeria has sufficient reserves of conventional energy to meet its needs,” Sellal said. He went on to say that drilling near the town of In Salah had been “experimental.”
The process of fracking has met with protests just about everywhere it is employed, but for Algeria concerns were not just for the environment, but also the need to use significant amounts of water, something this desert country does not have in abundance.
“Between shale gas and water, the Algerian people will choose water and you think the Algerian state would be crazy enough to endanger the lives of its citizens?” he asked the interviewer. “We are a responsible government.”
Sellal said the country had sufficient conventional reserves to last until 2037.
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