The volume of Algerian oil exports and their revenues witnessed a significant decline in the year 2020, as the total volume of hydrocarbon exports reached $20 billion, representing a decrease of 11% and 40%, respectively, compared to 2019.

The average price of oil ranged at $42 a barrel during 2020 compared to $64 a barrel during the year 2019, with a decline of nearly $23 a barrel (-35%). By taking into account the other exports of the energy sector, which include petrochemicals and others, the total exports of the sector exceeded 22 billion dollars (18.19 billion euros) in 2020.

As for revenues, tax revenues for the public treasury decreased by 32% during 2020 compared to 2019. As for investments, they amounted to $7.3 billion in 2020, a decrease of about 30% compared to investments in 2019, which were estimated at $10.2 billion.

The annual outcome stated that a thousand new job opportunities were created in the sector during the year 2020. In parallel, the bill for importing petroleum products decreased to less than $700 million, or 50% compared to 2019 imports.

The International Monetary Fund had predicted that Algeria, the fourth largest economic power in Africa, would record a 5.2% recession in 2020 and a general budget deficit among the highest in the region. The recently approved public finance law for 2021 notes that the country's foreign exchange reserves are reduced to less than $47 billion, to be gradually raised again in the next two years.

Source (Al-Arabiya.net website, Edited)