OilVoice - Algerian President Fires Sonatrach CEO

Algerian President Fires Sonatrach CEO

Monday, May 31, 2010

Algeria's president has fired the CEO and all top managers at the state-owned oil firm Sonatrach according to local media reports on Monday.

CEO Mohammed Mezian and the four vice presidents of the oil company had already been jailed or placed under house arrest because of an investigation into the suspected embezzlement of hundreds of millions of dollars.

While oil-related firms have been at the center of the corruption investigation that has been going on for months, national construction, highways, tramways, telecommunications, port businesses and other state-controlled activities are also under scrutiny. Several government or town hall officials have been charged over the past few months.

Numerous foreign companies operate in Algeria in partnership with Sonatrach, including Total and GDF (France), Repsol (Spain), Rosneft (Russia), ENI (Italy), BP (Britain), Statoil (Norway), Anadarko (US) and CNPC (China).

Sonatrach is the main energy producer in Algeria, a North African country which is a leading member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and supplies about 20 percent of Europe's gas needs.