Newer face, older problems
A new energy minister will try to end the stagnation in Algeria's upstream
Algeria's government hopes the appointment of a new energy minister and optimistic assessments of the oil and gas sector by senior officials all point to a change in fortunes in 2017. But there is little sign at present that the aspirations can be converted into expectations. The dismissal of Salah Khebri in June after only a year at the helm of the energy ministry was an acknowledgement of his failure to attract international investment and inspire upstream momentum. Natural gas production is static at around 82bn cubic metres a year and oil output is struggling to stay at 1.1m barrels a day. The appointment of an experienced energy sector professional to replace Khebri provided grounds for
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