(Adds confirmation from presidential statement)
By Lamine Chikhi
ALGIERS, May 24 (Reuters) - Algeria's state energy firmSonatrach has picked a new chief executive to replace an interimhead appointed less than a year ago and has also replaced morethan 20 other managers in a major shake-up, two industry sourcessaid on Sunday.
Amine Mazouzi, a younger-generation manager in Sonatrach'sproduction development department, will take the helm as theNorth African country seeks to draw more foreign oil investmentand offset a fall in world crude prices.
Sonatrach officials did not immediately confirm the changes.
Meanwhile state news agency APS said President AbdelazizBouteflika had ordered changes in the management of publicfinancial institutions and companies "without delay" but did notgive any names or details.
An official notice appointing Mazouzi had been expectedlater on Sunday, the two industry sources said.
One of the sources said a total of 22 Sonatrach groupmanagers had been changed in the shake-up.
OPEC member Algeria, a key gas supplier for Europe, failedto attract a lot of foreign interest in its most recent round ofoil and gas exploration licensing last year. Oil companies havecomplained about offer terms and bureaucratic red tape.
But it needs foreign investment to help increase oil and gasproduction. Oil output has been running at around 1.2 millionbarrels per day (bpd) in recent years, though Sonatrach saidthis month it would increase production by at least 32,000 bpdfrom July by starting production at two fields.
Mazouzi, the son of a respected veteran of Algeria's war ofindependence against France, is an experienced Sonatrach hand.The state firm has had five chief executives in five years,however, a sign of the turmoil Sonatrach has faced.
The expected changes at Sonatrach come just days after a newenergy minister and finance minister were named in a cabinetreshuffle by the president. The energy minister, Salah Khebri,is also seen as an experienced technocrat.
Sonatrach's operations are the motor of Algeria's economy. Adrop in world oil prices since last summer, however, hasprompted some measures to curb spending, including Sonatrachasking service suppliers for a 10-15 percent cut in theirprices.
In the first four months of the year, export revenues fell41 percent to $13.4 billion because of lower crude prices,according to customs figures provided by state news agency APS.
Oil and gas exports, which accounted for 93.5 percent ofAlgeria's total exports, declined 42.8 percent to $12.54 billionin the January-April period, according to customs figures
Sonatrach, which works as a majority partner in jointventures with foreign firms such as BP and Repsol in Algeria, has also been hit by a series of corruptionscandals in recent years. (Reporting by Lamine Chikhi; Writing by Patrick Markey; Editingby DDale Hudson and Greg Mahlich)
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