Even before last week’s terrorist outrage at the In Aménas gasfield, Algeria was a fading star of the oil and gas industry. The country used to be the darling of the majors. Its energy infrastructure was developed by companies such as Shell, BP, Statoil and Anadarko Petroleum. During the past decade, however, arbitrary fiscal changes, crippling bureaucracy and the resource nationalism of Sonatrach, the national energy company, have made foreign investors wince. Algiers is seeking to relaunch the industry this year; there is talk of a new fiscal regime. That task has suddenly become harder.
即使在上周因阿迈纳斯(In Aménas)气田发生恐怖暴行之前，阿尔及利亚在石油和天然气行业就已经是颗衰落的明星。该国曾是行业巨头们的宠儿。它的能源基础设施是壳牌(Shell)、英国石油(BP)、挪威国家石油(Statoil)和阿纳达科石油公司(Anadarko Petroleum)等公司开发建设的。然而在过去十年中，武断的财政变化、令人无所适从的官僚制度，以及阿尔及利亚国家石油公司Sonatrach的资源民族主义，令外国投资者退缩。阿尔及利亚力图在今年重振这一行业；有传言称，将出台新的财政制度。这个任务突然间增加了难度。