Algeria’s National Agency for the Valorization of Hydrocarbon Resources (ALNAFT) is launching a program to revitalize its upstream hydrocarbon sector.

Last year, the agency unveiled six new onshore licensing opportunities for conventional oil and gas exploration. It’s part of a five-year licensing plan designed to attract global investors, according to a note from the Holland & Knight law firm, which has assisted several companies in previous calls for tenders.

ALNAFT has extended bid submissions to July.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates that Algeria, an OPEC member country, has about 100 undeveloped discoveries, and two-thirds of the nation’s territory remains underexplored or underdeveloped. Recent licensing rounds are expected to unlock about 20 Bcm of gas production each year during the next five- to 10 years. And, Algeria may have much as 121 Bbbl of shale oil, the firm said.

The country holds about 12.2 Bbbl of proven crude oil reserves and an estimated 159 Tcf of proven natural gas reserves.

Sonatrach is currently the largest oil and gas producer in the African nation.

Algerian leadership recognized that global demand for energy is rising and that technological advances will make it easier to tap into reserves once thought inaccessible. Moreover, the government is “committed to attracting foreign investment,” according to Holland & Knight.

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