Opec member Algeria unveiled long-awaited amendments to a reform of its hydrocarbon sector on Saturday that limit foreign participation in exploration and production and impose a windfall tax on surplus profits.
The provisions, in a statement on the government gazette website, require state energy firm Sonatrach, Africa's largest company by revenue, to take a mandatory 51 percent stake in all exploration and production ventures. They also impose a new tax on foreign oil firms of between five to 50 percent whenever Brent crude trades above $30.
Their publication is the latest in a spate of moves sweeping the international energy sector in which oil and gas producers from Bolivia to Britain, emboldened by high energy prices, have tried to keep as much output and revenue for themselves.
Algeria approved a liberal energy law in July 2005 that downgraded Sonatrach's role in the oil and gas sector and gave more scope for foreign energy companies to invest and produce in Africa's second largest country.
But in July 2006 the government dismayed foreign investors by abruptly changing course and saying it would issue amendments to safeguard the role of Sonatrach and keep as much oil as possible in the ground for future generations.
The 2005 law was never implemented because its detailed implementing measures were never published. Similarly, implementing measures for the latest amendments must be published before they can take effect.
The latest amendments state in part: "Contracts for exploration and production, and contracts for production, must contain an obligatory clause giving participation to the national enterprise Sonatrach."