ArcelorMittal protests Algeria contract award

ALGIERS: A unit of ArcelorMittal's Algerian operations which produces pipes and tubes for the oil and gas industry has lodged a complaint with a state-owned firm, saying it unfairly missed out on a contract. ArcelorMittal, the world's biggest steelmaker, owns a large steelmaking complex in eastern Algeria; it is unusual for it to protest publicly over business conditions in the North African country.

• In a document obtained by Reuters, ArcelorMittal Pipes and Tubes Algeria Spa appealed a decision by Entreprise Nationale de Geophysique (ENAGEO), a state-owned hydrocarbon exploration firm, to award a contract to a private firm called SARL Karep. The contract was for about $140,000 worth of steel pipes.

  The winning bidder was planning to import the pipes while ArcelorMittal would produce them from scratch at its plant in Algeria, the document said ArcelorMittal said its bid was 9 percent more expensive than the winner’s, but it should have won because the law gives preference to domestically-produced goods even if they cost up to 15 percent more. An ArcelorMittal spokesman confirmed the appeal, but declined to give further details.

  ENAFEO was not immediately available for comment, but observers say it is possible that it may reconsider its decision and accept ArcelorMittal’s appeal. ArcelorMittal’s main asset in Algeria is a steelmaking plant near the town of Annaba. It produced about 750,000 tonnes of flat and long steel products in 2009, most of it destined for Algeria’s domestic market, but with some also exported.