The Algerian government has been proposing certain amendments to its energy law to attract foreign companies to its energy sector. Early this month the media reported that it was planning to allow foreigners to have majority stakes in projects involving nonstrategic sectors. It was felt that foreign investors shied away from investing in the past due to bureaucracy and an unattractive legal framework, restricting Algeria’s efforts to carry out plans aimed at boosting output and foreign investment.
However, after a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Noureddine Bedoui , yesterday to discuss the draft amendments to the energy law, it seems that the country is planning to keep unchanged the main clauses in its law including a the rule limiting foreign stakes in oil and gas projects. “The 51/49 rule was maintained,” the government said in a statement in the first comment in months. It added that the draft will try to provide a stable legal and tax incentive system for the long term, the statement added.
