Algeria Hydrocarbons Sector Remains A State Affair, Sonatrach Is A Red Line

During a meeting with the Prime Minister, Noureddine Badoui on Tuesday, President Abdelkader Bensalah called on the government to “continue studying ways to rehabilitate the national economy and increase Algeria’s attractiveness to foreign investments.”

According to a statement of the Presidency, the Prime Minister presented to the President of the State during this meeting, which is part of the follow-up of government activity and review of the political, economic and social conditions of the country, “a proposal on the good conditions for the start of professional entry to the September 2019 session, which defined the creation of more than 382.000 new posts, bringing the number of trainees, who are educated in various training institutions that distributed throughout the country, to 700,000 trainees and students, with offers of training involving 23 vocational sections for young people wishing to integrate into the world of work or create a special activity.

In the energy sector, Badoui gave a presentation on the preliminary draft of the hydrocarbons law, “which comes in response to the developments in this field after the current law has proved its limitations and some negative effects on production processes and attracting foreign investment.”

Badoui also explained that the new draft law “will provide a stable legal, institutional and fiscal system and incentive for investment in the field of hydrocarbons in the long term, without prejudice to national interests, where the rule 51/49 with respect to foreign investments in this area has been retained, in addition to expanding the exploitation of national capacities from hydrocarbons to the depths of the coast.”

In the same context, the Prime Minister briefed the President on the development plan of Sonatrach, which is part of the new strategy for the development of hydrocarbons sector in the long, medium and near terms.