27.4.11

Effects of Regional Instability on Algeria's Oil

Algeria's military is on high alert over possible threats to the country's oil fields in the south. Concern stems from the government's failure to stop the illegal weapons trade, and as a result even explosives and rockets are in circulation. The military is responding by increasing the security along Algeria and Libya's 900 km long border.

There are also concerns over security in the Sahal region (Algeria, Mauritania, Mali, Niger) as a whole, since an al-Qaida affiliate is active there. The governments of the region are responding to this threat by establishing a joint military headquarters in the Sahal.

Algeria's state oil company Sonatrach, may believe the region is stabailizing, as it has lowered its official price for Saharan Blend crdue for May to $1.70 a barrel. This is a sharp decrease from its high $2.85 price in April ($1.35 in March) during the NATO air strikes over Libya.

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