Niger and Algeria officially launched drilling operations on August 13, 2026, at the Kafra South-East 1 exploration well in Niger's northern Agadez region, marking a significant step toward developing a project estimated to hold more than 260 million barrels of oil.

Algerian Prime Minister, Sifi Ghrieb and his Nigerien counterpart, Ali Mahamane Lamine Zeine, co-chaired the launch ceremony in Kafra, approximately 85 kilometers from the Algerian border.

The well, operated by Sonatrach subsidiary ENAFOR, is expected to reach a depth of 3,900 meters.

"The Kafra block represents an important asset for Niger in the oil sector," Niger's Prime Minister Zeine said at the ceremony. "The work resuming today should allow us to improve our knowledge of its potential and determine the prospects for its development."

Algerian Prime Minister Ghrieb described the project as "a new cornerstone in the strategic partnership" between the two nations. "We meet again today, just two months and ten days after the inauguration of the power plant in Niamey, to lay a new foundation in the edifice of our strategic partnership," Ghrieb said.

The Kafra block covers 23,737 square kilometers between the departments of Iferouane and Bilma. Sonatrach first obtained a prospecting permit in 2005, and a production-sharing agreement between the Algerian state firm and Niger has been in place since 2015, renewed in 2022.

The drilling campaign is scheduled to last two years and will help determine the field's commercially recoverable reserves. According to Niger's national television, the block contains estimated reserves exceeding 260 million barrels, with projected production of approximately 90,000 barrels per day.

ENAFOR transported a 2,000-horsepower drilling rig more than 2,000 kilometers from Algeria's Hassi Messaoud oil field to the remote Kafra site.

Beyond exploration, the project includes a technology transfer component. Algeria will provide training to Nigerien workers and executives in the hydrocarbons sector, according to Niger's Petroleum Ministry.

The Kafra project follows the March 2026 session of the Algerian-Nigerien High Joint Commission in Niamey and comes as Niger seeks to expand oil production beyond its existing Agadem field, which is operated by China's CNPC and holds an estimated 953 million barrels.