Algeria pledges to review hydrocarbons law to attract investments

ORAN, Algeria, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Algeria pledges on Sunday to review hydrocarbons law to attract foreign investment.

Algerian Energy Minister, Mustapha Guitouni, reassured international energy firms the reviewing process, adding that he would submit a new draft law on hydrocarbons soon.

He made the announcement in his opening speech at the eighth North Africa Petroleum Exhibition & Conference held in the western province of Oran.

He added that the government is "waging a war on bureaucracy and removing legal and administrative barriers and constraints that stifle any investment today."

Guitouni further reassured foreign investors that the government has been introducing more transparent procedures in terms of the procurements of deals and contracts to ensure fair treatment for all bidders.

Last October, Algerian Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia said the government is intended to amend the law on hydrocarbons in order to attract foreign investors.

In 2006, the parliament passed a law introducing windfall tax on profits made by foreign companies when oil prices exceed 30 U.S. dollars a barrel. Such a decision provoked indignation of foreign companies in the country, while deterred others from entering the country to invest in upstream or downstream fields.

The CEO of the Algerian Agency for Valorisation of Hydrocarbon Resources, Arezki Hocini, stressed that "the overhaul of the hydrocarbons law, under development, is highly awaited, as it is expected to accelerate the recovery of Algerian hydrocarbons activity and investment." Enditem