Mr. Lee pointed out to the obvious problems of industrial action that could cripple the Algerian oil sector. He also warned that any involvement of the military in repressing the protesters could have significant security implications for the country’s oil facilities. For Algeria, Exxon’s temporary freeze of talks with Sonatrach on gas production is bad news. This is because according to Julian Lee, Algerian oil is not so indispensable. Algeria becoming a member of the “Shaky Six,” [Angola, Iran, Libya, Nigeria and Venezuela] remains a critical question that the Bouteflika clan will have to answer.

Source: The North Africa Journal March 21, 2019 19:52 UTC