In Amenas (, ''‘In ’Amanās'') is a town and commune in eastern

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

, bordering with

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

. 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 in 1998, with an annual growth rate of 3.4% According to the Algerian novelist

Mouloud Mammeri Mouloud Mammeri () was an Algerian writer, anthropologist and linguist. Biography He was born on December 28, 1917, in Ait Yenni, in Tizi Ouzou Province, French Algeria. He attended a primary school in his native village, then emigrated to ...

the name is a

Tuareg The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym, depending on variety: ''Imuhaɣ'', ''Imušaɣ'', ''Imašeɣăn'' or ''Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berber ethnic group, traditionally nomadic pastoralists, who principally inhabit th ...

word which means "place of camel drivers." The natural gas facility near the municipality was attacked by Islamist militants in January 2013.

Climate

In Amenas has a

hot desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk'') is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''BWh''). Summers are long and very hot with average high temperatures over during June, July and August. Winters remain warm and brief at daytime but nights can be quite cold, with average low temperatures below during January, the coolest month of the year. In Amenas averages annual rainfall of only as the town is located within the large central hyperarid core of the

Sahara Desert The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...

. The sky is always clear over In Amenas throughout the year and the relative humidity is very low, especially during summer months. German Climate In Amenas

Transport

It is served by

In Amenas Airport In Amenas Airport, also called Zarzaitine Airport , is an airport serving In Amenas, a town in the Illizi Province of southeastern Algeria. It is located east of In Aménas. In 2007, the airport handled 145,070 passengers and had 3,627 aircra ...

with

Air Algérie Air Algérie SpA (, ) is the flag carrier of Algeria, with its head office in the El-Djazair office block in Algiers. With flights operating mostly from Houari Boumedienne Airport in Algiers and Ahmed Ben Bella Airport in Oran, Air Algérie op ...

flights to

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

Hassi Messaoud Hassi Messaoud () is a town in Ouargla Province, eastern Algeria, located southeast of Ouargla. As of 2008 it had a population of 45,147 people, up from 40,360 in 1998, and an annual population growth rate of 1.1%, the lowest in the province. O ...

Oran Oran () is a major coastal city located in the northwest of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria, after the capital, Algiers, because of its population and commercial, industrial and cultural importance. It is w ...

and

Ouargla Ouargla (Berber: Wargrən, ) is the capital city of Ouargla Province in the Sahara Desert in southern Algeria. It has a flourishing petroleum industry and hosts one of Algeria's universities, the University of Ouargla. The commune of Ouargla had ...

and Tassili Airlines flights to Adrar,

El Golea El Menia () is an oasis town and Communes of Algeria, commune, and capital of El Ménia District, in Ghardaïa Province, Algeria. The former name is El Goléa (); together in Arabic, the two names mean ''Impregnable Castle''. According to the 20 ...

El Oued El Oued (), Souf or Oued Souf is a city, and the capital of El Oued Province, in Algeria. The oasis town is watered by an underground river, hence its name is El Oued which enables date palm cultivation and the rare use (for the desert) of brick c ...

In Salah Ain Salah, officially Aïn Salah (), is an oasis town in central Algeria and the capital of In Salah Province and In Salah District. It was once an important trade link in the trans-Saharan caravan route. As of the 2008 census, it had a popula ...

Tébessa Tébessa or Tebessa ( ''Tibissa'', ''Tbessa'' or ''Tibesti''), the classical Theveste, is the capital city of Tébessa Province in northeastern Algeria, near the border with Tunisia. It hosts several historical landmarks, the most important o ...

and

Touggourt Touggourt (; or 'the gate') is a city and Communes of Algeria, commune, former sultanate and capital of Touggourt District, in Touggourt Province, Algeria, built next to an oasis in the Sahara. As of the 2008 census, the commune had a population ...

Economy

Natural gas

In Amenas is the starting point of the In Amenas-Haoud El Hamra oil pipeline and the In Amenas-Hassi Messaoud gas pipeline. The

natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...

joint development project (known as the In Amenas Gas Project) which includes four primary gas fields plus the gathering and processing facilities in Tiguentourine, outside the town, was commissioned in 2006. The project is operated by

Sonatrach Sonatrach (; ) is the national state-owned oil company of Algeria. Founded in 1963, it is known today to be the largest company in Africa with 154 subsidiaries, and often referred as the first African oil "major". In 2021, Sonatrach was the seven ...

, BP, and

Statoil Equinor ASA (formerly Statoil and StatoilHydro) is a Norwegian multinational energy company headquartered in Stavanger, Norway. It is primarily a petroleum company operating in 36 countries with additional investments in renewable energy. In th ...

. Zarzaitine is one of the notable sites Sonatrach is operating in the area.

History

In January 2013, the Tigantourine gas facility was attacked by Islamist militants. At least 39 foreign hostages, along with an Algerian security guard, were killed when the facility was stormed after a four day stand-off. A total of 685 Algerian workers and 107 foreigners were freed. It was one of many attacks in the Maghreb carried out by Islamist groups since 2002.

Education

7.0% of the population has a tertiary education, and another 16.9% has completed secondary education. The overall literacy rate is 80.0%, and is 85.0% among males and 72.8% among females.

Localities

The commune is composed of eight localities: *Centre CIS *Zone Industrielle * Zarzaitine * Edjeleh *Elhadeb *Larache *Saut du Mouflon * Ohanet

References

Neighbouring towns and cities

{{DEFAULTSORT:In Amenas In Amenas District Communes of Illizi Province