{"id":52518,"date":"2022-08-24T23:49:53","date_gmt":"2022-08-24T23:49:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africannewspaper.net\/2022\/08\/24\/totalenergies-abandons-algeria-project-for-bureaucracy-problems-the-north-africa-post\/"},"modified":"2022-08-24T23:50:03","modified_gmt":"2022-08-24T23:50:03","slug":"totalenergies-abandons-algeria-project-for-bureaucracy-problems-the-north-africa-post","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africannewspaper.net\/2022\/08\/24\/totalenergies-abandons-algeria-project-for-bureaucracy-problems-the-north-africa-post\/","title":{"rendered":"TotalEnergies abandons Algeria project for bureaucracy problems \u2013 The North Africa Post"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
French giant Total Energies has ditched a petrochemical project in Arzew in Oran in Western Algeria, a withdrawal that analysts blamed on Algeria\u2019s bureaucracy.<\/p>\n
Africa Intelligence news outlet relayed the news on the eve French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to the country.<\/p>\n
Sonatrach has agreed to create a 1.4 Billion dollar petrochemical facility to produce 550,000 tons of polypropylene per year.<\/p>\n
Sonatrach was informed that Total Energies would withdraw its investment citing the project’s inability to make a profit, but French experts believe the project’s abortion is due to excessive bureaucracy.<\/p>\n
Due to insecurity concerns, major oil and gas companies have shunned Algeria since the 2013 bloody attack at Ain Amenas, one of its largest oil sites.<\/p>\n
The country is behind in the business climate surveys, and has been left behind in the Doing Business Index as well as the Economic Freedom Index.<\/p>\n
The perception of Algeria\u2019s unfriendliness towards foreign investors is worsened by facade investment reforms that left unchanged a rule requiring 51% of national ownership of any projects.<\/p>\n
The 51\/49 rule stipulates that at least 51% must be owned either by Algerian residents or Algerian nationals.<\/p>\n
Investors have been pushed away by the archaic bank system. Algeria\u2019s banks remain state-dominated and highly corrupt thus thwarting foreign direct investments.<\/p>\n
The political instability and the opacity surrounding the military-dominated regime also contribute to undermining the flow of foreign direct investments in Algeria\u2019s oil and gas sector.<\/p>\n
Algeria\u2019s willingness to weaponize gas and use the resource to achieve its regional agenda is also deterring many Western companies.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n