Chakib Khelil

Position: Energy & Mines Minister

Biography: Chakib Khelil has been energy minister since Abdelaziz Bouteflika became president in 1999. Educated in the US, a former employee of the UK/Dutch Shell Group and a senior employee of the World Bank for the 19 years up to 1999, Khelil is considered a liberal-minded reformer. It is an image on which his political status has both risen and fallen. Khelil was the architect of the 2005 hydrocarbons law that reoriented state energy company Sonatrach as a commercial entity and opened the sector to increasing international participation. When President Bouteflika was struck by illness at the end of the year, there was speculation that Khelil would succeed him. But after key elements of the new law were overturned in 2006, Khelil increasingly took a back-seat role and there was talk of his resignation. On 1 January 2008, he became president of Opec for the second time.

Contact Tel: (+213) 2165 7011/2154 7000; Fax: 213 21 66 87 29

Mohamed Meziane

Position: Chairman & CEO, Sonatrach

Biography: Viewed as a stalwart of Algeria’s state-led hydrocarbons sector, Mohamed Meziane was appointed chief executive officer (CEO) of Sonatrach in October 2003, where he had been employed since 1967. He is not considered as liberal as Khelil, but neither is he viewed as being opposed to reform. Turning Sonatrach into a commercial entity is now a key focus for Meziane and upstream investments in Libya, Mali, Niger, Peru and Egypt demonstrate his willingness to adopt an international role. But internal change will be key to the organisation’s ability to become genuinely commercial. Balancing the demands of more than 40,000 employees and a strong trade union with those of a fast-changing global economy is a key challenge for Meziane. To retain staff, plans were announced earlier this year to reward Sonatrach employees on merit rather than longevity.

Contact Tel: (+213) 2154 7000 (x5970)/2154 9819; Fax: (+213) 2154 6302/2154 9819

Abdelhafid Feghouli

Position: Vice-president, downstream, Sonatrach

Biography: Widely respected by senior figures in the international oil and gas industry, Abdelhafid Feghouli, as head of the downstream sector, is responsible for many of the country’s flagship projects in oil and petrochemicals. He is also in charge of developing liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure. The dismissal of Sonatrach’s Spanish partners, Repsol and Gas Natural, on the planned Gassi Touil integrated LNG project will make Feghouli’s role all the more important, and the state company is also developing a liquefaction terminal at Skikda. His main problem, say those in the industry, is the lack of expertise around him. With three major projects in the hands of Sonatrach alone, and four further multi-billion-dollar international partnerships planned under the country’s petrochemicals masterplan, Feghouli could find the downstream division overstretched.

Contact Tel: (+213) 2152 6661; Fax: (+213) 2154 6664; Email:feghouli.abdelhafid@sonatrach.dz

Sid Ali Betata

Position: Head of Agence Nationale pour la Valorisation des Ressources en Hydrocarbures (Alnaft)

Biography: A former director of mineral exploitation and conservation at the Energy Ministry, Sid Ali Betata was appointed head of Alnaft in November 2005. Alnaft’s role was to take over Sonatrach’s responsibilities for managing the tender process for upstream oil and gas concessions, and the payment of taxes and royalties. Betata’s most difficult task has been finding employees with sufficient expertise to staff the organisation without stripping Sonatrach of its key personnel. Under Betata, the agency invited expressions of interest in its first international licensing round for upstream oil and gas contracts in January, and the launch of a further round, comprising 15 blocks, is expected soon.

Contact Tel: (+213) 2166 5292; Fax: (+213) 2166 0981; Email:sabetata2001@yahoo.fr,
or s.betata@mem.gov.dz

Noureddine Cherouati

Position: Head of Agence Nationale de Controle & de Regulation des Activites dans le domaine des Hydrocarbures (ARH)

Biography: Noureddine Cherouati became the first head of ARH in November 2005 following the agency’s creation in July that year. As head of ARH, Cherouati is responsible for overseeing compliance with the law and evaluating applications from international companies for pipeline transportation and storage contracts. Cherouati has a strong background in oil and gas distribution, having been head of Naftal, Sonatrach’s transportation arm, and the Transmediterranean Pipeline Company, which pipes Algerian gas to Italy via Tunisia. ARH has been beset by many of the same problems as Alnaft, most notably that of human resources. Both agencies are still unproven, and although they are legally constituted as independent bodies, the Energy Ministry controls their budgets.

Contact Tel: (+213) 2148 8167/2148 8183; Fax: (+213) 2148 8315

Boumediene Belkacem

Position: Vice-president, upstream, Sonatrach

Biography: As Sonatrach’s upstream head, Boumediene Belkacem is responsible for Algeria’s most important assets: its oil and gas reserves. Although responsibility for awarding and regulating upstream oil and gas contracts has passed to Alnaft and ARH respectively, Belkacem plays a critical role in the development of the country’s resources. Amendments to the 2005 hydrocarbons law reinstated Sonatrach’s obligation to take at least a 51 per cent stake in all upstream contracts, but as resources become harder to extract, this may change. There is a growing expectation that following awards of acreage in the latest international licensing round, expected to be launched soon, Belkacem will enter
talks with international partners for development contracts.

Contact Tel: (+213) 2160 1814; Fax: +213 21 601 895; Email:belkacem.boumediene@sonatrach.dz; belkacem@sonatrach.dz