Extraction / Energy and Industry
In the space of two weeks in February 2026, Algeria moved on two fronts in the Sahel. On February 13, Burkina Faso and Algeria signed a cooperation agreement covering hydrocarbons, energy, mining and training. Days later, Algerian state utility Sonelgaz confirmed it was building a 40MW power plant in Niger, described by Sonelgaz’s chairman as a flagship project delivered in record time. Taken together, these two moves outline an Algerian strategy that has little to do with charity and everything to do with regional positioning.
The Burkina Faso agreement
On February 13, 2026, Burkina Faso and Algeria signed minutes of a meeting covering hydrocarbons, energy, mining and training. The document outlines priority areas including the supply of petroleum products to Burkina Faso, development of LPG trade, expansion of storage and distribution capacity, and the sharing of technical expertise.
Algerian Minister of State for Hydrocarbons and Mines Mohamed Arkab stated that the two countries had laid the foundations for major cooperation projects that would strengthen ties between Burkina Faso and Algeria and create added value for both countries.
The context matters. Burkina Faso under the Alliance of Sahel States has dramatically reduced its exposure to Western partners over the past two years. France has withdrawn its military presence. Western development finance has been curtailed. The country faces a chronic electricity deficit and a heavy dependence on imports from Ghana and Ivory Coast, both of which are ECOWAS members with whom relations are strained. Algeria is stepping into a gap that was not accidental.
The Algerian energy group Sonelgaz has confirmed its readiness to collaborate with Burkina Faso’s national electricity company Sonabel, with cooperation potentially including technical and administrative training through Sonelgaz’s specialised schools.
The Niger power plant
The Niger project is more advanced. Sonelgaz will build a 40MW power plant in Niger as part of a project aimed at strengthening energy cooperation between the two countries, following a memorandum of understanding. Sonelgaz’s chairman described it as a flagship project aligned with Algeria’s commitment to supporting improved electricity access in the neighbouring country, delivered in record time and representing a strategic milestone in bilateral energy cooperation.
Talks between the two countries also covered grid rehabilitation, institutional restructuring of Niger’s energy sector, and the adoption of modern digital systems to enhance sector efficiency. Algeria also confirmed its readiness to support capacity-building programmes for Nigerien technical personnel through specialised training within Sonelgaz institutions.
Niger’s situation is acute. With only 20 percent of its population connected to the electricity grid and reduced imports from Nigeria following the 2023 coup-related tensions, the country is structurally dependent on external energy support. Algeria is providing that support directly and visibly.
The diplomatic reset behind the energy deals
Neither of these energy moves can be read outside the diplomatic context. In April 2025, Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali collectively recalled their ambassadors from Algeria following a disputed drone incident. Normal diplomatic channels were suspended for approximately ten months. The diplomatic reconciliation between Algeria and Niger in February 2026 marked a decisive shift from regional tensions toward collaborative energy development, with economic incentives overcoming political disputes when mutual benefits aligned with national strategic interests.
The energy projects are the concrete expression of that reconciliation. Algeria did not rebuild its relationships in the Sahel through security cooperation or aid transfers. It rebuilt them through infrastructure commitments that create durable bilateral dependencies. That is a deliberate sequencing.
What this signals for the region
Algeria’s Sahel energy strategy raises questions that go beyond bilateral relationships. As Western partners retreat and Chinese infrastructure investment consolidates, a third actor is emerging: the North African state using its energy surplus and state utility capacity to build influence in a sub-Saharan neighbourhood that is actively reorganising its external partnerships.
Sonelgaz has signed agreements with energy companies in West Africa to develop electrical interconnections, and the Burkina Faso and Niger moves are the most visible execution of that agenda. For Guinea, Senegal and Ivory Coast, the question is not whether Algeria’s energy diplomacy will reach further south. It is how fast it gets there and what it asks for in return.