Algeria's Energy Minister has said that the government is determined to put pressure on international oil companies to share technology with Algeria instead of simply extracting oil and gas out of the ground.
Energy Minister Youcef Yousfi addressed international media, in Canada, about the country's energy policy for the first time since his appointment in May. His stance seemed to reflect that of Algeria's government in moving toward economic nationalism.
"There is a need for a bigger partnership in industry, a partnership in manufacturing equipment and the transfer of technology, not the partnership of a seller and a buyer. This is a requirement which we are going to impose more and more," said Yousfi.
Earlier this month Algeria launched a new oil and gas licensing round to be completed by March 2011. It was not clear, however, whether technology transfer would be included as a requirement in the round.
The upcoming licensing round will be an important one for Algeria, as the previous two attracted little interest from foreign investors due to, according to several oil executives, the fact that the terms were not attractive enough.
Source: Reuters
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