FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
World Bank
1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A.* Telephone: (202) 477-1234
BANK NEWS RELEASE NO. 92/10                Contact: Fawzi Rihane
Tel: (202) 473-2675
ALGERIA: FIRST PETROLEUM PROJECT
The following is information on a project approved by the World
Bank's Board.
DATE: August 2, 1991
WORLD BANK GROUP SUPPORT: World Bank loan: $100 million. The
loan is for 17 years, including five years of grace, with a
variable interest rate, currently 7.73 percent, linked to the
cost of the Bank's borrowings. It also carries an annual
commitment charge of 0.25 percent on the undisbursed balance.
TOTAL COST: $240.2 million
OTHER FINANCING: Domestic loans, $28.2 million; Societe
Nationale pour la Recherche, la Production, le Transport, la
Transformation et la Commercialization des Hydrocarbures
(SONATRACH), $27.5 million; Japanese Export-Import Bank, $76.8
million; France, $7.7 million
IMPLEMENTING AGENCY: SONATRACH
ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: 1995
PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The objectives of the First Petroleum
Project are to: (a) attract foreign oil company investments in
exploration and development; (b) improve the efficiency of
drilling operations; (c) optimize the production of SONATRACH's
oil fields through enhanced oil recovery schemes; and (d) address
environmental problems related to drilling and production
activities. The project includes four components: (a) assistance
for the promotion of exploration acreage to foreign oil
companies, including basin studies, setting up a modern
exploration data base, promotional and contractual assistance,
and the services of full-time foreign experts; (b) technical
assistance and training in drilling supervision; (c) selected
enhanced oil recovery subprojects (in the Amassak, Mesdar, and
Zarzaitine fields) and related studies; and (d) training and
other technical assistance in the areas of organization,
financial systems, planning optimization, and environmental
protection.


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
World Bank
1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A. * Telephone: (202) 477-1234
BANK NEWS RELEASE NO. 92/LAC                   Contact: Ciro Gamarra
(202) 473-8721
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE TO EXAMINE PROSPECTS AND NEEDS
OF LATIN AMERICA'S POWER SECTOR
WASHINGTON, D.C., August 27, 1991 -- A two-day conference of
Ministers of Economy and Energy of Latin America and the Caribbean to examine
the prospects and financing needs of the power sector in the region will be
held in Mexico next week under the sponsorship of the World Bank.
The conference, which will take place in the Hacienda Cocoyoc,
near Mexico City, from September 4 to 6, will consider the situation of the
power sector and discuss the best options for surmounting the crisis affecting
it in the region. The topic of the conference is "A Policy Challenge for the
90s: Overcoming the Crisis of the Power Sector in Latin America and the
Caribbean Countries."
The conference is co-sponsored by the Energy Sector Management
Assistance Programme (ESMAP) of the World Bank and the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) and by the Latin American Energy Organization
(OLADE). It has the support of the Mexican Ministries of Finance and Public
Credit (SHCP) and of Energy, Mines and Parastatal Industry (SEMIP).
The meetings will be chaired by the Mexican Ministers of Finance,
Dr. Pedro Aspe, and of Energy, Ing. Fernando Hiriart; the Argentinian Minister
of Economy, Dr. Domingo Cavallo; and the Jamaican Minister of Finance, The
Honorable P. J. Patterson.
The speakers will include the World Bank's Regional Vice President
for Latin America and the Caribbean, S. Shahid Husain; the Executive Secretary
of OLADE, Gabriel Sanchez Sierra; the Executive Vice President of the Inter-
American Development Bank, James W. Conrow; and renowned specialists in their
respective fields.
The conference will consider the legal and regulatory framework
that rules the publie and private enterprises of the sector, on the basis ofla
joint study by the World Bank and OLADE on "The Evolution, Situation and
Prospects of the Electric Power Sector in the Latin American and Caribbean
Countries."
The meeting will also discuss the role of the multilateral
agencies, the participation of the private sector, and the linkage between an
adequate power supply and economic development in the region.
Some 150 high-level representatives from the government and
electric sector of the Latin American and Caribbean countries, including the
Ministers of Finance and Energy, will attend this conference.
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