Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Oil, gas and coal operations · Algeria · 2014–2025

In Salah shale gas pilot wells and protests, 2014–2015

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured. Disputed
What the record lacks: 6 none on record · 2 not disclosed · 2 not measured · 1 disputed · 1 unclear See the gaps
Accounts of the harm differ
Distance of the pilot wells from In Salah
  • Government and regulators Officials: Put the pilot wells about 150 km from the town. Al Jazeera English
  • Communities and civil society Abdelkader Bouhafs, Sonatrach engineer and Shems association activist: Said the drilling was about 35 km north of the town, not 150 km; Al Jazeera also located a Halliburton base camp about 10 km north of In Salah. Al Jazeera English
  • Company or project Sonatrach: Did not respond to Al Jazeera's requests for comment in May 2015. Al Jazeera English

Sonatrach announced the completion of the first shale-gas pilot wells near In Salah on 27 December 2014 and a programme of at least US$70 billion over 20 years. Protests that began on 1 January 2015 included clashes on 28 February – 1 March 2015.

at least US$70 billionSonatrach's announced shale-gas programme over 20 years
CEO Said Sahnoun on state radio, January 2015, via AFP: about 20 bcm a year from 200 drill sites.

Status As of August 2025: commercial terms with ExxonMobil and Chevron for the Ahnet basin were under negotiation, according to Bloomberg; no measured environmental data from the 2014 pilot wells is on record.

What?
Sonatrach, with Halliburton, drilled shale-gas pilot wells near In Salah in the Ahnet basin; the first were announced finished on 27 December 2014, and protests followed from 1 January 2015, including clashes on 28 February – 1 March 2015. Al Jazeera English
Where?
Ahnet basin near In Salah (Ain Salah), about 1,200 km south of Algiers; pilot wells reported at about 150 km (officials) or about 35 km (activist) from the town. Al Jazeera English
When?
Drilling from June 2014 (activist claim); pilot wells announced 27 December 2014; protests from 1 January 2015; clashes 28 February – 1 March 2015. Al Jazeera English
Who?
Gained
  • Sonatrach — Announced a programme of at least US$70 billion over 20 years; 2024 preliminary agreements with ExxonMobil and Chevron for the same basin Gulf News (AFP)
Lost
  • About 40 policemen — Injured in the clashes of 28 February – 1 March 2015, two seriously (interior ministry statement) Al Jazeera English
Harmed
  • Ahnet basin near In Salah — No measured data on water use, flowback, contamination or seismicity is on record
Why?
Sonatrach tested the shale-gas potential of the Ahnet basin; President Bouteflika called shale gas a 'gift from God'. Al Jazeera English
How?
Hydraulic-fracturing pilot wells over the Saharan aquifer system were drilled by Sonatrach with Halliburton; protesters demanded a halt to drilling and a national debate on energy transition (movement leader Hacina Zegzeg). Al Jazeera English
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

According to an activist, drilling began in June 2014 without public notice. On 27 December 2014 three ministers, including the energy minister, announced that Sonatrach had finished the first shale-gas pilot wells; Sonatrach, with Halliburton, had tested shale potential near In Salah, in the Ahnet basin about 1,200 km south of Algiers.

Protests and a sit-in on Somoud square in In Salah began on 1 January 2015. The first violent clashes took place on 28 February – 1 March 2015: the Algerian interior ministry said about 40 policemen were injured in two days of riots, two seriously. The head of the 6th military region met representatives of the movement and promised an investigation into alleged excessive police force, and a defence ministry communiqué demanded that protesters leave the square. President Bouteflika vowed to continue exploration, calling shale gas a 'gift from God'.

In January 2015 Sonatrach CEO Said Sahnoun told state radio, as reported by AFP, that the company planned to invest at least US$70 billion over 20 years in shale gas, about 20 bcm a year from 200 drill sites, and that the pilot well in In Salah was producing clean gas and its waste water was being managed. He also said the company had perhaps not communicated enough about the issue. In May 2015 Al Jazeera reported that Sonatrach did not respond to requests for comment.

In May 2024 Sonatrach and ExxonMobil signed a memorandum of understanding on the Ahnet and Gourara areas, and preliminary agreements were reported with ExxonMobil and Chevron in 2024. In August 2025 Bloomberg reported that commercial terms were still under negotiation; Alnaft chairman Samir Bekhti said that 'The technical aspects have more or less been agreed upon.' Bloomberg also reported that shale efforts had been shelved in 2016 after resident protests.

  1. 2014Drilling begins in June according to an activist; three ministers announce the first pilot wells finished (27 Dec)
  2. 2015Protests and sit-in on Somoud square from 1 Jan; first violent clashes 28 Feb – 1 Mar; Sonatrach announces at least US$70 billion programme (January); Al Jazeera reports Sonatrach did not respond to requests for comment (May)
  3. 2024Sonatrach–ExxonMobil memorandum of understanding on Ahnet and Gourara (May); preliminary agreements with ExxonMobil and Chevron
  4. 2025Commercial terms still under negotiation (August)

What was said

Claims, in the words of those who made them.

“The pilot well in In Salah is producing clean gas. The waste water is being managed.”

Said Sahnoun, Sonatrach CEO, state radio via AFP · January 2015 · Gulf News (AFP)

“Perhaps we haven't communicated enough about the issue.”

“ecological catastrophe”

Abdelkader Bouhafs, Sonatrach engineer and activist of the Shems association, on what the movement aims to avoid · March 2015 · Al Jazeera English

“gift from God”

“The technical aspects have more or less been agreed upon.”

Where accounts differ

Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.

Distance of the pilot wells from In Salah
Government and regulators
Officials

Put the pilot wells about 150 km from the town.

Al Jazeera English
Communities and civil society
Abdelkader Bouhafs, Sonatrach engineer and Shems association activist

Said the drilling was about 35 km north of the town, not 150 km; Al Jazeera also located a Halliburton base camp about 10 km north of In Salah.

Al Jazeera English
Company or project
Sonatrach

Did not respond to Al Jazeera's requests for comment in May 2015.

Al Jazeera English

How it looked

What was shown, beside what was recorded.

Shown

  • The first shale-gas pilot wells were finished.
    Three ministers including the energy minister, announcement of 27 December 2014 · Al Jazeera English
  • The pilot well in In Salah is producing clean gas and the waste water is being managed.
    Sonatrach CEO Said Sahnoun, January 2015 · Gulf News (AFP)

Recorded

  • About 40 policemen injured in two days of riots, two seriously (Algerian interior ministry statement, 28 February – 1 March 2015).
    Al Jazeera English
  • Sonatrach plan of at least US$70 billion over 20 years, about 20 bcm a year from 200 drill sites.
    Gulf News (AFP)
  • Bloomberg (August 2025): no dollar figure for the ExxonMobil and Chevron agreements; shale efforts shelved in 2016 after resident protests.
    World Oil (Bloomberg)

Who gained

Money that reached nature, beside money that stayed elsewhere.

Reached nature or the ground

Not published
Compensation to residents or environmental monitoring budget—
None on record.

Gained elsewhere

Not totalled
Sonatrach's announced shale-gas investment programme≥ $70bn
Currency: USD · Window: 20 years from 2015 (announced). All figures cover the same period. * Estimate built from cited figures.

Responses on record

  • sonatrach (January 2015): CEO said the pilot well was producing clean gas, the waste water was being managed and the company perhaps had not communicated enough about the issue. · Gulf News (AFP)
  • sonatrach (May 2015): Did not respond to Al Jazeera's requests for comment. · Al Jazeera English

In court and with insurers

Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

Lawsuits and rulings

No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

Insurers

No insurer decision on record.

What nature saw

Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.

Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.

Announced investment
at least US$70 billion
Over 20 years, about 20 bcm a year from 200 drill sites (Sonatrach, January 2015)
Police injured
about 40
Algerian interior ministry statement on the clashes of 28 February – 1 March 2015
Distance of pilot wells from town
150 km vs 35 km
Officials vs activist Abdelkader Bouhafs
Measured water, flowback, contamination or seismicity data
None on record
For the In Salah pilot wells

What we don't know

Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
No court caseNo independent ecological evaluation

Nature

  • Not measured Harm to nature: No independent ecological evaluation is on record.
  • Disputed Distance of the pilot wells from In Salah

Money

  • None on record Compensation to residents or environmental monitoring budget — None on record.

Court

Accounts

  • None on record Sonatrach: Did not respond to Al Jazeera's requests for comment in May 2015.

Record

  • Not measured Not measured: water use, flowback, contamination or seismicity at the In Salah pilot wells.
  • None on record None on record: compensation to residents or an environmental monitoring budget.
  • None on record None on record: court records on the protests or the wells.
  • None on record None on record: a statement from Halliburton.
  • Not disclosed Not disclosed: investment, reserve or water figures in Al Jazeera's reporting of the protests.
  • Unclear Unclear: when the shale effort was shelved; Bloomberg (August 2025) reported 2016, while Al Jazeera reported protests in January–May 2015.
  • Not disclosed Not disclosed: the signature status of ExxonMobil and Chevron shale contracts after August 2025.

Did the harm stop?

None on record. The pilot wells were announced finished on 27 December 2014; Bloomberg reported in August 2025 that shale efforts had been shelved in 2016 after resident protests.

Who paid?

None on record. No compensation to residents and no environmental monitoring budget is on record.

Sources

Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers

Press and investigations

  1. Q&A: 'We want to avoid an ecological disaster'
    Al Jazeera English · 2015-03-11

Connected cases

Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
Terms used on this page

Science and environment

Groundwater
Water held underground in soil and rock, drawn through wells.

Law and courts

Arbitration
A private dispute process in which an appointed arbitrator, instead of a court, decides the case.
Class action
A single lawsuit brought on behalf of a large group of people with similar claims.
Similar cases
Killings and repression of defenders · Oil, gas and coal operations · Law, regulation and treaties · Russia · 2012–2023
Arctic Sunrise seizure at the Prirazlomnaya platform: ITLOS bond, PCA arbitration, 2019 settlement and ECtHR judgment
Same type: Oil, gas and coal operations, Law, regulation and treatiesHarm to nature disputedHarm to nature not measured
Oil, gas and coal operations · Protected area / relocation · Democratic Republic of the Congo · 2022–2026
DR Congo oil blocks auction after forest deal
Same type: Oil, gas and coal operationsSame regionHarm to nature disputed