North Africa’s Economy
Algeria: Private business sector swept away by protest movement, several businessmen under arrest
The protest movement in Algeria is having its first wave of collateral damage. With the judiciary active as never before under the pressure from the streets, and as a result of a purge taking place within the ruling circle, businessmen allegedly tied to the Bouteflika...
Algeria resurrecting major graft probes as police raid Sonatrach and Public Works ministry and ban hundreds from leaving the country
The North Africa Journal - 11 April 2019 - On 7 April 2019, the Algerian security authorities established a new list of 378 individuals banned from the leaving the country. This new list brings the total number of banned individuals to 540. The list includes former...
Libya’s Escalating Civil War: The Oil Dimension
By Rauf Mammadov* and Theodore Karasik** - 10 April 2019: Libya’s civil war intensified this month after General Khalifa Haftar, head of the Libyan National Army (LNA), which is allied with the eastern government based in Tobruk—the House of Representatives...
Algeria: Expect unprecedented purge of the Bouteflika clan, as Algerians seeks to uproot the “deep state”
By Arezki Daoud: 2 April 2019: For now, all of the named individuals and companies listed here are innocent of any criminal wrongdoing. Investigations have just begun. However, suspected of corruption and illegal transfer of capital abroad, 12 businessmen are under...
Algeria: Bouteflika backer and businessman Ali Haddad arrested
Algiers, March 31, 2019 - Ali Haddad, one of Algeria's top businessmen and a backer of ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, was arrested as he tried to cross into Tunisia, an Algerian security source said Sunday. Haddad, who Forbes magazine describes as one of...
Algeria: Central Bank seeks to appease growing public fear over capital flight as political crisis persists
There has been growing public fear over regime operatives moving money from Algeria to foreign banks. Rumors have been circulating that several businessmen tied to the regime, including the Kouninef brothers, have contracted multi-million dollar loans over the past...
Algeria: Media campaign against financial backers of Bouteflika: the Kouninef brothers
The North Africa Journal - 26 March 2019: The Kouninef brothers have been the focal point of several influential newspapers and have been under attack by social media commentators for their alleged strong ties and support of the Bouteflika regime. The Kouninef family...
Algeria: Petroleum sector facing uncertainty as political crisis escalates
By Arezki Daoud - 21 March 2019: Echoing the positions of many of the foreign companies operating in Algeria, peaking with Exxon Mobil halting talks with Sonatrach on the American company’s involvement in a gas project, oil analyst Julian Lee wrote in Bloomberg that...
Algeria: Exxon-Sonatrach talks on gas project stall as political crisis in Algeria deepens and fate of Sonatrach CEO at risk
The North Africa Journal - 20 March 2019: US oil firm Exxon Mobil suspended discussions with Algeria’s state-own Sonatrach on a natural gas development project, according to Reuters. The decision seems to be motivated by what is happening in Algeria with its mass...
Libya: NOC takes control of al-Sharara oil field, set to resume production
Tripoli, March 4, 2019 - One of Libya's most important oil fields is set to reopen nearly three months after it was taken over by an armed group, the state-owned National Oil Corporation said Monday. Production at the Al-Sharara site in southern Libya "is expected to...