Page 4 - AfrOil Week 42 2019

AfrOil COMMENTARY AfrOil
Sonatrach takes a stand on draft energy law
The national oil company has spoken out in favour of the caretaker government’s plans for reforming the oil and gas sector, but the matter is far from settled
Sonatrach’s headquarters in Oran (Photo: Sonatrach)
WHAT:
Sonatrach has called the draft energy law an “essential” measure for the oil and gas sector.
WHY:
The company’s asser- tions are not likely to sway critics of the interim president.
WHAT NEXT:
Algeria’s parliament
is not likely to adopt the legislation before elections on December 12.
ALGERIA’S national oil company (NOC) Sonatrach has waded into an ongoing dispute between the caretaker government, headed by interim President Abdelkader Bensalah, and protesters concerned about the lingering influ- ence of the previous regime.
Bensalah came under fire on October 13, when his cabinet endorsed a draft version of the new energy law. The next step will be to sub- mit the legislation to Parliament, which must approve it before it can take force.
At the time, the interim president called the measure a necessary move, saying that the legis- lation would put the country’s oil and gas sector on a more solid footing. “The draft will allow us to start deep reforms in the energy sector and implement a development plan for Sonatrach,” he said.
Protesters took a different view. Some com- plained that Bensalah and his allies were moti- vated less by the desire to reform and more by the desire to ensure the support of Western countries with an interest in Algeria’s crude oil
and natural gas.
Others argued that the caretaker government
was not entitled to make permanent changes to Algerian law, given that it does not have an electoral mandate. Bensalah took office in April, after the North African state’s long-time President Abdelaziz Bouteflika stepped down. Since then, his cabinet and the army, headed by Gen. Gaid Salah, have scheduled elections for December 12.
Sonatrach’s position
On October 20, Sonatrach spoke out on the dispute – and its sentiments echoed those of Bensalah.
In a statement posted on its website, the com-
pany said that the caretaker government had
been justified in drawing up the new energy law.
It called the draft legislation “essential to restore
the attractiveness of the [oil and gas] sector in
the context of low oil prices and increased com- petition among producing countries to attract
new investors.” 
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w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 42 23•October•2019