Illizi ( ar, ولاية اليزي) is a large

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

(''

wilaya A wilayah ( ar, وَلاية, wālāya or ''wilāya'', plural ; Urdu and fa, ولایت, ''velâyat''; tr, vilayet) is an administrative division, usually translated as "state", "province" or occasionally as "governorate". The word comes fr ...

'') in the south-eastern corner of

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

named after its eponymous seat. It borders

Ouargla Province Ouargla or Warqla ( ar, ولاية ورقلة) is a province ('' wilaya'') in eastern Algeria. Its capital is Ouargla. Other localities include Hassi Ben Abdellah and Hassi Messaoud. It contains the Issaouane Erg desert. History In the past Ou ...

to the north,

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

to the extreme northeast,

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

to the east,

Djanet Province The wilaya of Djanet () is an Algerian province created in 2019, previously, a delegated wilaya created in 2015. It is located in the Algerian Sahara. Geography The wilaya of Djanet is in the Algerian Sahara; its area is 131,220 km² ...

to the south and, to the west,

In Salah Province The Wilaya of Ain Salah ( ar, ولاية عين صالح) is an Algerian wilaya created in 2019, previously, a delegated wilaya created in 2015. It is in the Algerian Sahara. Geography The wilaya of in Salah is in the Algerian Sahara, its a ...

and

Tamanrasset Province Tamanrasset or Tamanghasset ( ar, ولاية تمنراست ''Wilāya Tamanrāssat'', Berber languages) is the largest province ('' wilaya'') in Algeria. It was named after its province seat, Tamanrasset. The province has two national parks, mor ...

. As of the 2008 census, the province had a population of 52,333 and an annual growth rate of 4.5%.

History

The province was created from

in 1984. In January 2013, a

hostage crisis A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized, such as a relative, employer, law enforcement or government to act, or refr ...

occurred in a natural gas facility near

In Amenas In Amenas (, ''‘In ’Amanās'') is a town and commune in eastern Algeria, bordering with Libya. The town is located west of the border. There is no border crossing in the area. The municipality had 7,385 inhabitants in 2008, up from 5.302 i ...

Administrative divisions

The province is divided into 2

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

, which are further divided into 4 ''communes'' or municipalities.

Natural resources

The area is rich in

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbon d ...

. One of the most promising sites for natural gas production is the

Ain Tsila gas field The Ain Tsila gas field is a natural gas field located in the Illizi Province. It was discovered in 2012 and developed by Petroceltic International. Production is expected to begin in 2020-21 and will produce natural gas and condensates. The tot ...

in the Isarene permit, some 57% of which is owned by the Irish company

Petroceltic International Petroceltic International is a wholly owned subsidiary of Petroceltic Holdings Limited, a privately owned, UK headquartered, oil and gas company. The Group has operations in North Africa and the Black Sea. Company Development Petroceltic beca ...

, 18% by the Italian company

Enel Enel S.p.A. is an Italian multinational manufacturer and distributor of electricity and gas. Enel, which originally stood for Ente nazionale per l'energia elettrica (National Electricity Board), was first established as a public body at the ...

, and the rest by the Algerian government-owned

Sonatrach Sonatrach ( ar, سوناطراك; french: Société Nationale pour la Recherche, la Production, le Transport, la Transformation, et la Commercialisation des Hydrocarbures) is the national state-owned oil company of Algeria. Founded in 1963, it is ...

. Reportedly, Petroceltic's 56.7% is worth between US$800 million and US$1 billion.

References

{{Authority control Tuareg Provinces of Algeria States and territories established in 1984