Abdelmoumen Ould Kaddour, the Chief Executive of Sonatrach has just been fired. Interim president of the Algerian government dimissed him and replaced him with Rachid Hachichi.
Ould Kaddour saw his support system completely crumble and has long been in the chopping block. In addition to his strong ties to top regime officials, Ould Kaddour is criticized for his management style, which did not earn him many friends within Sonatrach, which has been facing massive financial performance problems, which accelerated in the fourth quarter of 2018.
Ould Kaddour’s dismissal does not bode well for the man. It is likely the first step of what may be more legal trouble for an executive who has already had some bad history with the law. We excpect the legal system to go after him under the umbrella of a wa against corruption.
His replacement, Rachid Hachichi has been head of Sonatrch’s production division in the Department of Eploration-Production since 2017.
More to come.
