Production Resumes at Algerian In Aménas Gas Plant

Production has resumed at the In Aménas gas plant in Algeria, the scene of a terrorist attack and considerable loss of life in January.

One of the plant's operators, Statoil of Norway, said that limited production started last Friday.

The other partners in the joint venture at In Aménas are Sonatrach of Algeria and BP.

Statoil said a commemoration ceremony will be held at the In Aménas facilities next Sunday, to mark the resumption and also to coincide with Algeria's Day of Nationalisation of Hydrocarbons. A memorial monument with the names of the victims of the terror attack will also be unveiled.

More than 60 people were killed after a fundamentalist Islamist group took control of the facility on January 16. Most of the dead were Algerians, but European energy companies also lost employees, including five from Statoil.

“The Joint Venture has initiated a limited production start-up at In Aménas. We thank Sonatrach for the work they have done and continue to do on behalf of the Joint Venture, during this difficult time for everyone involved,” Lars Christian Bacher, executive vice president for Development and Production International in Statoil, said in its statement.