Ouargla Province

Ouargla Province ولاية ورقلة
Province
Map of Algeria highlighting Ouargla
Coordinates: 31°57′N 5°19′E / 31.950°N 5.317°E / 31.950; 5.317
Country	Algeria
Capital	Ouargla
Area
• Total	211,980 km2 (81,850 sq mi)
Population  (2008)[1]
• Total	552,539
• Estimate  (2019)[2]	708,463
• Density	2.6/km2 (6.8/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01 (CET)
Area Code	+213 32
ISO 3166 code	DZ-30
Districts	6
Municipalities	10

Ouargla or Warqla (Arabic: ولاية ورقلة) is a province (wilaya) in eastern Algeria. Its capital is Ouargla. Other localities include Hassi Ben Abdellah and Hassi Messaoud. It borders Ouled Djellal Province, El M'Ghair Province Touggourt Province, and El Oued Province to the north, Tunisia to the east, In Salah Province and Illizi Province to the south, and El Menia Province, Ghardaia Province and Djelfa Province to the west. It contains the Issaouane Erg desert.

In the past Ouargla was the center of trading of gold and slaves,^{[citation needed]} as well as being an important center of Ibadi Islam. However, the Ibadis have left for the M'zab valley.

In 1984 Illizi Province was carved out of its territory.

In 2019, Touggourt Province was carved out of its territory.

The province is divided into 6 districts (daïras), which are further divided into 10 communes or municipalities.^[3]

The region lies within the Algerian Triassic Sedimentary basin containing numerous oil and gas fields, including the Alrar gas field.^[4] Production is from Triassic sandstones with Andesitic seals and the Gothlandian shale as a source rock.^[5] Major fields include the Hassi R'Mel gas field, Haoud-Berkaolu, Ben-Kahla, and the Guellala.^[5]