IOCs retain Algerian caution

Sceptical Western investors adopt wait-and-see attitude even after Algeria’s interim government agreed a draft hydrocarbons law

Algeria is set to move away from an onerous tax regime that has seen international oil companies (IOCs) stay away in recent years, under a draft law announced in October by interim president Abdelkader Bensalah, who replaced the ousted Abdelaziz Bouteflika in May after weeks of riots. But it remains to seen whether it will be enough to fire potential investors’ enthusiasm.  Officials say the law is a return to the IOC-friendly regulatory framework of the 1980s and 1990s, which resulted in rapid growth in oil and gas output. That framework was ditched in 2005, but tighter rules deterred IOCs and saw exploration stagnate. Auctions for exploration licenses flopped in 2010 and 2014, with only si