Italian Saipem Returns To Square One In Algeria

An official document of the Italian company “Saipem” showed that it will almost be back to square one in Algeria after it was about to return again and participate in tenders for large oil and gas projects.

In this context, the financial outcome of the first six months of the current year of the company Saipem, which copy is available to Echorouk, shows that it is awaiting a new trial in the framework of the so-called Sonatrach I case, after the Court of Appeal in Algiers canceled all decisions of the Algerian Judicial Council of February 2, 2016, that are related to the case.

The Italian company confirmed that the Court of Appeal in the Algerian capital will probably explain in September the reasons for the opening of the case again, noting that the appeal against the previous rulings included the suspension of a fine of 30.000 euros that are imposed on the company until a new trial and the suspension of the freeze on two bank accounts that belong to it in Algeria.

According to the same document, about 71 million euros is an amount which estimated more than others under the new decision of the Court of Appeal in the Algerian capital.

The Italian company was just around the corner from returning to the Algerian market, after a friendly settlement of its differences with Sonatrach and paying $ 200 million, in exchange for turning the page definitively, but the decision of the Court of Appeal of the Algerian Judicial Council, returned things back to square one, especially with regard to the case of Sonatrach 1, and lifting the freeze on the Italian bank accounts in Algeria.

In return for the Italian company’s situation of returning back to square one to zero in Algeria, it ended its problems completely with the American side about its activities in Algeria, which was under investigation in 2013.

Saipem’s report said that Washington has not requested, since November 29, 2015, any extension of the investigation which it launched in 2013, ie four years since the last request by the U.S. administration to the Italian company.