Algeria says huge oil field discovered

ALGIERS, Algeria - Algeria’s energy minister said a new oil field containing an estimated 1.3 billion barrels has been discovered.

Youcef Yousfi told the state news agency Saturday that the discovery near the large oil fields in the southern region of Hassi Messaoud is one of the most important in the past 20 years.

He added the state oil company, Sonatrach, will rely on unconventional techniques to extract 50 percent of the reserves, including hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking.

The field will be exploited in the next three to four years after the necessary studies, the report adds.

Algeria, an energy giant in Africa that already is one of the largest natural-gas suppliers to Europe, had been concerned about declining oil reserves.