7.500
%
Neutral
73
mm boe
31
%
Algeria remains a difficult place to operate, with limited scope for participants other than the majors. However, the 2019 hydrocarbons law and the bid rounds held since 2024 have improved fiscal terms and drawn back IOCs, and the post-election environment has remained stable. Sonatrach's dominance, bureaucracy and the 49/51 rule outside strategic projects remain constraints. Outlook maintained because improved terms are balanced by continued state control and limited access for independents. Outlook: Neutral. Risk premia unchanged at 7.5%.
October 7, 2026
Africa - North
mm bbl
bcf
Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Morocco and Tunisia.
Multiple (PSC/Concession)
Hydrocarbons Law 19-13 (2019) provides three contract types – participation contracts (royalty/tax joint ventures with Sonatrach), production sharing contracts and risk service contracts – with Sonatrach holding at least 51% in each. Fiscal terms comprise a royalty of 10% (reducible to 5% in some cases), a petroleum income tax of 10–50% depending on contract and area, and corporate income tax for partners under participation contracts. Older contracts remain under the 1986 and 2005 laws unless converted.
President Abdelmadjid Tebboune was re-elected in September 2024, and the military-backed establishment continues to dominate politics. The 2019 hydrocarbons law and the 2022 investment law (which created a single investment agency) improved terms. However, the US Investment Climate Statement and the ITA guide flag bureaucracy, import restrictions, currency controls and the 51/49 rule, which still applies to strategic sectors, including hydrocarbons, where Sonatrach must hold a majority. The EIA identifies Algeria as Africa's largest natural gas producer and a key pipeline and LNG supplier to Europe, although rising domestic demand is constraining export capacity; recent bid rounds have revived IOC interest.
Source: ESRI, Heritage Index, HMG Foreign & Commonwealth Office, US Department of State, International Trade Administration, International Law Review, Ernst & Young, Wood Makenzie & OGA data.
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