Algeria says oil round awaits reform publication

By Hamid Ould Ahmed

ALGIERS, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Algeria is waiting to finalise a key energy reform before launching its next oil and gas exploration licensing round, the OPEC member country's Energy and Mines Minister, Chakib Khelil, said on Saturday.

A date for the next round is keenly sought by multinationals readying to compete for permits to explore for petroleum and natural gas in Algeria, whose 11.8 billion barrels of proven oil reserves put it in the top 20 largest reserves owners.

Algeria wants foreign investment to help state-owned oil and gas conglomerate Sonatrach, Africa's biggest company by revenue, raise the country's oil output to two million barrels per day (bpd) by 2010 from about 1.4 million bpd now.

In April 2005, Algeria awarded nine licences for oil and gas exploration, and it was then expected to launch what would have been its seventh licensing round by the end of 2006.

But in September 2006 the government enacted a law giving Sonatrach a more central role in all aspects of the energy sector and introducing a windfall tax on international oil companies in a move seen by critics as an example of the 'resource nationalism' sweeping the international energy sector.

SAHARAN RICHES

To take effect, the detailed practical measures necessary to implement the legislation must be published in the government gazette. To date only the clauses dealing with the windfall tax have been published.

"We cannot launch the round before the publication of all the implemention decrees in the government gazette," Khelil told a live roundtable debate on state television.

"We are still waiting for the publication of (the) other decrees. This will take time."

The law, a reversal of previous legislation for a planned energy liberalisation, will be the basis for all future foreign investment in the energy sector.

The legislation is popular with a population suffering deep unemployment following years of political conflict and resentful of foreign participation in the Saharan oil and gas riches.

The biggest foreign operator is U.S. Anadarko Petroleum Corp (AHC.N). Other firms involved in the north African country include British Petroleum (BP.L), Amerada Hess (HES.N),Statoil (STL.OL), Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC.N) and Repsol (REP.MC).

Rules for Algeria's "exceptional profits" tax were published in December and are retroactive to Aug. 1, 2006 under the new legislation. Algeria has said it hopes to earn about $500 million from the tax in 2006 and about $1 billion from it in 2007.

"The tax on exceptional profits is an Algerian law," Khelil added. "It will be applied to all foreign companies. Sonatrach will implement this law."