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By Hamid Ould Ahmed
ALGIERS, May 1 (Reuters) - Algeria's state energy companySonatrach wants to develop its partnerships with foreign firmsto boost output and exports, its new chief executive said onWednesday, comments that could reassure investors a week afterhis appointment.
Algeria, a member of the Organization of the PetroleumExporting Countries and a major gas supplier to Europe, hasstruggled to lift production to meet rising domestic demand,while foreign investors have often baulked at contract terms.
Rachid Hachichi, Sonatrach's former head of production andexploration, was named chief executive on April 23, replacingAbdelmoumene Ould Kaddour.
"Our group will continue to develop partnerships withforeign firms seeking to invest in Algeria," he said in amessage to mark Labour Day, the state news agency reported
"Partnerships are an essential element in our developmentstrategy, especially in the field of production andexploration," he said.
The former CEO had been seeking to make Algeria moreattractive to foreign investors by resolving a series ofdisputes with oil majors including France’s Total,Italy’s ENI and Spain’s Repsol.
Sonatrach has a deal with Britain's BP and Norway'sEquinor to develop Algeria's shale gas reserves, butindustry sources said in March that talks with Exxon Mobilon developing a gas field had stalled.
Algeria produces an estimated 1 million barrels per day ofcrude and 135 billion cubic metres a year of gas. Oil and gasaccount for 94 percent of Algeria's total exports and 60 percentof the state revenues.
"We will work to improve the professional climate so thateveryone will have a favourable environment," Hachichi said,after workers at some Sonatrach oil and gas facilities haveprotested to demand higher wages and better working conditions.
Algeria has been buffeted by mass anti-government protestssince Feb. 22. Demonstrators have demanded a clear out of theelite that has ruled the North African nation since independencein 1962.
(Reporting by Hamid Ould AhmedEditing by Edmund Blair)
