Algeria will not begin drilling shale gas before 2022, Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal said yesterday, the Anadolu Agency reported.

During an interview on state television Sellal said: "I would like to reassure our brothers in the desert that shale gas is not in the government's agenda. We are only conducting experiments in two wells, based on which we will conduct studies for four years to find out our exact shale gas reserves."

Sellal's remarks came to reassure the population of the south who protested against the recent shale gas exploitation operations conducted by the nation's energy giant Sonatrach. The residents fear the drilling could contaminate the ground water and harm the environment.

"We do not need shale gas," Sellal said, noting that Algeria's reserves of natural gas and oil are due to last until 2037.

He pointed out that according to international studies Algeria is believed to come second or third in terms of shale gas reserves globally.

A report by the US Department of Energy in 2013 indicated that Algeria ranked third after China and Argentina in terms of shale gas reserves.