This isn’t the first time Algeria has tried that little masquerade. I remember Chakib Khelil, the energy minister who, until 2010, all but ruled the country’s oil and gas policy—and much more besides—for the better part of a decade. For a while he was even whispered about as a future president. Under his watch, a parade of new institutions and shiny laws was rolled out to “modernize” the sector. It all looked so polished, so sophisticated, so full of promise.
Yes, we held our breath. I did too. I spent a lot of time in-country, forging ties between my employer and the institutions of Algerian oil and gas. We dreamed of a modernized Algeria. But we forgot reality. The moment oil prices ticked upward, the coffers filled, and the pressure eased, the façade cracked. They slid right back into their bad old habits, as predictably as gravity.So don’t hold your breath this time either. Algeria is simply being Algeria—again, as it has so many times before.