The new legal provisions aimed at encouraging investment in the hydrocarbons sector were the subject of a video conference in London on Wednesday which brought together Algerian and British executives and experts as well as representatives of international oil groups, reports this Thursday July 1, 2021, the official agency.
Organized jointly by the Algerian Embassy in London and the Algerian-British Business Council “ABBC”, the conference reviewed the new measures intended to revitalize the energy sector, particularly providing for a much more flexible contractual framework and a tax regime more favorable to foreign partners.
The Algerian Ambassador to London, Mr. Abderrahmane Benguerrah, underlined, in his introductory speech, that the new law governing the hydrocarbon sector was part of a broad and ambitious reform program that the government is leading in all areas. to improve the business climate and diversify the economy.
The Ambassador also touched on the subject of bilateral relations, noting that the post-Brexit context in which the United Kingdom is evolving, with the ambition to invest in other markets and the determination, on the other side, to build a new Algeria, represent “an excellent opportunity to seal a long-lasting win-win partnership”.
A finding shared by the chairman of the British Parliamentary Group on Algeria, MEP Alexander Stafford, who expressed the hope that the two countries would further deepen their trade and cooperation relations.
During the conference, moderated by the president of ABBC, Lady Olga Maitland, two managers within the National Agency for the Development of Hydrocarbon Resources (ALNAFT), in this case Farid Ayadi, in charge of the promotion mines, Boukhari Nour El Houda, responsible for the legal management of contracts as well as a representative of Sonatrach, Khaled Rekouche, made detailed and documented presentations on the potentialities of the hydrocarbon sector and the opportunities offered by the new law in terms of cooperation and partnership.
They also explained all the practical aspects related to the implementation of this new law and the novelties it introduces compared to the old legislation.
The new Hydrocarbons Law, which maintains rule 51/49 governing partnerships with foreign companies, in order to guarantee and safeguard the sovereignty of the State over this strategic sector, innovates in terms of partnership for the realization of new projects. exploration and exploitation.
Thus, it was recalled during the conference, the new law proposes three types of contracts, namely: the Participation Contract, the Production Sharing Contract and the Risky Services Contract.
The new Hydrocarbons Law also introduces fiscal measures that stimulate the oil and gas sector.
An analysis of the new legislative framework, from the point of view of foreign investors, was also made by Rym Loucif and Bertrand Montembault, both lawyers, who expressed their satisfaction for the clarity of the new law and the flexibility it introduces on contractual and tax matters.
Finally, a director of the company “Neptune Energy”, Philip Lafeber and a head of the Petrofac oil group, Alex Haynes, spoke respectively on the major investment opportunities offered by the new law and on the prospects for the development of renewable energies. .
The debate which followed the presentations also enabled a panel of executives from the Ministry of Energy, Alnaft and Sonatrach, composed of MM. Amir Ali Amir, Amine Remili, Nasreddine Ali Amar and Samir Bekhti, to intervene from Algiers to provide the necessary clarifications to the questions of the participants on, in particular, the texts of application of the new law as well as on the missions of the various players in the hydrocarbon sector.
Translated by Hope from https://www.algerie-eco.com/2021/07/01/algerie-la-loi-regissant-les-hydrocarbures-presentee-a-londres/
