Algeria: stepping off the gas? | beyondbrics

The choice of target in the recent bloody hostage standoff in Algeria was not by chance. By attacking the gas sector, jihadist terrorists went for maximum impact. Energy accounts for 98 percent of the Algeria’s exports and 70 per cent of tax revenue, with the In Amenas plant accounting for 12 per cent of the country’s gas output

It is unlikely to prompt any large-scale pull by foreign companies, but the events cap a longer term deterioration in the operating environment of Africa’s biggest natural gas producer, where new investment has all but dried up, with steadily decreasing numbers of successful oil round awards.

Beyond cautious statements about ‘reviewing security’ and communicating grave concern for still-missing workers, the major international oil companies in Algeria – BP and Statoil – have not said much yet about how the tragedy has affected their views about the country in the long term.
Algeria: stepping off the gas? | beyondbrics