On 17 April 2020 it was announced that Sonatrach signed two memoranda of understanding (MOU) on upstream exploration with Turkish company TPAO and Russian company Zarubezhneft. The MOU's will set a frame in which further talks will be held with each company to identify attractive projects in Algeria's upstream. Zarubezhneft is specialist in IOR/EOR and is likely to focus on projects to assist Sonatrach increasing the oil recovery at its existing fields.  This comes one month after Sonatrach signed a similar agreement with Chevron and indicates that the revised hydrocarbon law introduced in December 2019 is attracting new companies to Algeria.
TPAO and Zarubezhneft each signed an MoU with Sonatrach paving the way for discussions over joint E&P opportunities in the country, taking advantage of its new hydrocarbon law. Inter alia, this includes the absence of the 51% required state participation in all foreign investment projects, and likewise the stateâs pre-emptive right in proposed sale of Algerian assets to foreign investors.