Energy · Profile from Energy Research Companion
Sonatrach
Algeria's state oil and gas company — Africa's largest company by revenue in most years and the country's fiscal backbone: hydrocarbons have provided over ~90% of Algeria's export earnings and a large share of budget revenue for decades (reported, verify current shares). It was founded on 31 Dec 1963, eighteen months after independence. The world's first commercial LNG exports had already left Arzew in 1964, and the 1971 nationalisation of French oil interests gave it control of the country's resource. It built Europe's second pipeline gas corridor after Russia's: Transmed to Italy (1983), the Maghreb–Europe line through Morocco to Spain (1996, closed by Algeria in Oct 2021) and Medgaz direct to Spain (2011). Its story has three recurring features. It is the state's budget, so politics decides prices, investment and leadership. It has been hit by corruption cases (the Khelil-era "Sonatrach 1" and "Sonatrach 2" affairs from 2010). And it carries security risk, as the In Amenas attack of Jan 2013 showed. After Russia's 2022 cut-offs, and again in the 2026 Gulf crisis, Europe treated it as a security supplier — but rising domestic gas consumption limits how much more it can export. In 2023 Algeria piped ~34.9 bcm of gas to Europe (~26.2 bcm via Transmed to Italy, ~8.7 bcm via Medgaz to Spain), plus LNG (reported).
At a glance
- Founded
- 31 Dec 1963, by decree, as the national company for the transport and marketing of hydrocarbons; production and exploration added in 1966 (reported, verify)
- Headquarters
- Algiers
- Ownership / structure
- 100% owned by the Algerian state (Ministry of Energy and Mines oversight); not listed; issues no public bonds (verify)
- Leadership (2026)
- CEO Noureddine Daoudi (in post by Oct–Nov 2025, reported; predecessor Rachid Hachichi, from 2023, reported — verify dates); Energy Minister Mohamed Arkab (reported, verify 2026 status)
- Segments
- Exploration and production (alone and in partnerships with Eni, TotalEnergies, Occidental, Equinor, BP, Repsol, CNPC and others); pipeline transport (domestic network and export lines); liquefaction (Arzew and Skikda LNG complexes); refining and petrochemicals (domestic refineries; Augusta refinery in Sicily, bought from ExxonMobil in 2018, reported); marketing; international upstream (Libya, Niger, Peru's Camisea, reported, verify)
- Scale
- Crude oil ~0.9–1.0 mb/d under OPEC+ quotas (2024–26, reported, verify), plus condensate and NGLs; marketed gas ~100 bcm/yr (verify), of which domestic consumption takes roughly half and rising; LNG export capacity ~25–30 mtpa nameplate (verify), utilised well below that in most years
- Financial
- Exports ~$60bn in 2022 at peak prices (reported); 2021 export revenue ~$35.4bn (reported); 2024 net profit reported at ~$6bn (secondary source, verify currency and basis)
- Signature moves (incl. failures)
- Founding (1963); Arzew and first commercial LNG (1964); nationalisation (1971); Maghreb–Europe pipeline and its 2021 closure (1996); Khelil-era corruption cases (2010, failure); Medgaz (2011); In Amenas attack (2013, disaster); 2019 hydrocarbons law; Italy and European deals after Russia's 2022 cuts
9 strategic moves analysed
Each one gets a full strategy file in the companion: context, the decision, the financing, what happened, and the lesson.
1963
Founding
Founding
1964
Arzew First Commercial LNG
Construction and commissioning (first commercial LNG export plant)
1971
Nationalisation
Nationalisation
1996
Maghreb Europe Pipeline and 2021 Closure
Pipeline commissioning (1996) and its deliberate closure (2021) — a route to market built and then cut for politics
2010
Khelil Era Corruption Cases
Regulatory and legal action (corruption investigations — failure of governance)
2011
Medgaz Pipeline
Pipeline construction and commissioning
2013
In Amenas Attack
Accident or disaster (terrorist attack) and its aftermath
2019
Hydrocarbons Law
Regulatory reform
2022
Italy and European Gas Deals
Supply contracts