The Tunisian Electricity and Gas Company (STEG) always respects its commitments under the energy exchange agreements with its Algerian partners, director of cooperation and communication in STEG, Mounir Ghabri told TAP Sunday.

He added: “there is nothing new” in the partnership relations with the Algerian companies “SONATRACK” and “SONELGAZ”.

This clarification comes after some websites reported that STEG had “informed the government that the Algerian authorities have officially demanded the reimbursement of the gas bill of Tunisia to SONATRACH» and that the company would have “requested the government to intervene to find quick solutions to pay its bill to SONATRACH”.

The official said that “all STEG’s bills with SONATRACH are paid on time, in accordance with the agreements between the two parties». He added that relations with Algerian companies are «very solid and go back several years and that Algerian partners are essential for Tunisia.»

In the electricity sector, STEG remains determined to honour its commitments to the Algerian company SONELGAZ, to which it has just paid an initial invoice of pound 15 million (equivalent to 50 million dinars) on 7 April 2023. It is also keen to repay the remaining invoices within the framework of agreements between the two parties, he further indicated.

Algeria remains a strategic partner for Tunisia in the energy sector. Tunisia’s natural gas imports from Algeria currently account for more than 50% of the country’s natural gas needs.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse