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ALGIERS: Algeria named a new energy minister in a government reshuffle on Sunday, the presidency said on Sunday. Mohamed Arkab, a former mining minister, replaced Abdelmadjid Attar, it said in a statement.
Arkab had been energy minister from April 2019 to June 2020 when he was replaced by Attar in a reshuffle by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune.
OPEC member Algeria has been seeking to attract more foreign investors after a fall in oil and gas output, causing a drop in energy export earnings which account for 60 percent of the state budget and 94 percent of total export revenues.
The government early last year approved a new energy law offering attractive terms to investors, including tax incentives.
The coronavirus has further negatively impacted the state finances with lower global oil prices forcing the government to cut spending and delay some planned investment projects.
The state energy firm halved planned investment spending to $7 billion in 2020 as the government sought to limit the economic effects of a lockdown.
Most ministers kept their jobs in Sunday’s reshuffle including those in charge of finance, trade and agriculture.