Algeria's New Hydrocarbon Law Comes Into Force

Algeria’s new hydrocarbon law has come into force on Saturday.

The new law is aimed to attract more foreign investments to increase oil and gas output, featuring a set of tax incentive measures that encourage exploration and exploitation in rugged areas, Xinhua said in a report.

Algeria's last three rounds of bidding for oil and gas permits attracted lacklustre interest from foreign firms, raising questions about whether it could maintain output levels and meet growing demand.

Xinhua added that the law maintains the 51/49 rule, which gives state-owned energy giant Sonatrach the majority stake in investment project with foreign partners.

Algeria intends to explore unconventional resources such as shale gas and shale oil. The shale gas reserves in Algeria are estimated at around 600 trillion cubic meters, four times the level of its current gas reserves, Xinhua said.