Illizi Province

Illizi (Template:Langx) is a large province (wilaya) in the south-eastern corner of Algeria named after its eponymous seat. It borders Ouargla Province to the north, Tunisia to the extreme northeast, Libya to the east, Djanet Province to the south and, to the west, In Salah Province and Tamanrasset Province. As of the 2008 census, the province had a population of 52,333 and an annual growth rate of 4.5%.<ref name="census2008"/>

History

The province was created from Ouargla Province in 1984. In January 2013, a hostage crisis occurred in a natural gas facility near In Amenas.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Administrative divisions

The province is divided into 2 districts,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> which are further divided into 4 communes or municipalities.

District	Commune	Map
Illizi District	Illizi	ﻳﻠﻴﺰى
In Amenas District	Bordj Omar Driss	برج عمار إدريس
	Debdeb	دبدب
	In Amenas	إن أمناس

Natural resources

The area is rich in natural gas. One of the most promising sites for natural gas production is the Ain Tsila gas field in the Isarene permit, some 57% of which is owned by the Irish company Petroceltic International,<ref name=ft>Template:Cite news</ref> 18% by the Italian company Enel,<ref name=ft/> and the rest by the Algerian government-owned Sonatrach.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Reportedly, Petroceltic's 56.7% is worth between US$800 million and US$1 billion.<ref name=ft/>