ALGERIA/REGIONAL

Water Scarcity Will Hamper North African Shale Boom

Algeria’s shale gas reserves are the world’s third largest. Libya and Egypt are also in the global top 20. But almost all of this potential bounty is in areas of extreme aridity. Replicating North America’s shale revolution will be an uphill task.

Algeria has ambitious plans to tap recoverable shale gas resources estimated at 707 tcf, the world’s third largest, by the US government’s Energy...