ALGIERS- Indonesia's Pertamina International EP will start drilling 20 wells at the Hassi Berkine oilfield in southern Algeria next month, Algerian state news agency APS reported, citing the firm's local manager.

The drilling at the Amlan Kathla block will be conducted in partnership with Algerian oil and gas firm Sonatrach, Maria Mellia, told APS late on Wednesday.

Pertamina International EP is a subsidiary of Indonesia's state energy firm PT Pertamina.

The Indonesian company currently produces 18,000 barrels of oil per day from joint operations with Sonatrach at Algeria's Menzel Lejmat North, El Merk and Ourhoud fields, APS quoted Mellia as saying during an energy conference in the western Algerian city of Oran.

Algeria has been trying to attract foreign investment in a bid to boost stagnant oil and gas output and increase hydrocarbon export revenue, the main source of state finances.

(Reporting by Hamid Ould Ahmed Editing by Aidan Lewis and Jane Merriman) ((hamid.ouldahmed@thomsonreuters.com;))