The Minister of Hydrocarbons, Mohamed Arkab, reported that Sonatrach has achieved 17 new hydrocarbon discoveries since the beginning of 2026 through its own exploration efforts. These figures were presented to the National People's Assembly's finance committee during the 2027 budget bill discussions. The company's investments for 2026 exceeded $6 billion, up from $5.3 billion in 2025, representing an increase of more than 13%. As part of its 2026-2030 development plan, the national group aims to drill approximately 500 exploration wells and cover 66% of Algeria's mining domain, with the primary objective of replenishing oil and gas reserves and sustaining national production capacity.