By an OGJ Online Correspondent
ALGIERS, Aug. 21 -- Algeria and Nigeria will start discussions here next month about a gas pipeline linking the two countries, said the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' news agency.
Algerian Energy and Mines Minister Chakib Khelil said a Nigerian delegation would visit Algeria Sept. 6 to discuss the project's feasibility with experts and executives of the Algerian state oil company, Sonatrach.
In April, Khelil and Nigerian Presidential Advisor on Petroleum and Energy Rilwanu Lukman held talks in Algiers on the proposal.
They agreed to optimize the project with provision of an optic-fiber cable for telecommunications and to set up a think tank on the proposal.
At the Conference of African Energy Ministers in April, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika stressed the importance of the proposed project to create conditions for industrial development by countries in the region.