By BENOIT FAUCON
LONDON—Algeria's state oil giant Sonatrach named a new, permanent chief executive on Monday, ending months of uncertainty after a corruption probe led to some contract delays.
Oil-industry veteran Nordine Cherouati, who has been serving as the head of the hydrocarbons regulation agency, has been officially installed as CEO by Energy Minister Chakib Khelil, Sonatrach said in a statement.
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The In Salah Gas Krechba Project, run by Sonatrach, British Petroleum and StatoilHydro, operated in the Sahara desert near In Salah, Algeria, on Dec. 14, 2008.
.An interim head, Abdelhafid Feghouli,had been running Sonatrach, Africa's largest oil company, ever since previous CEO Mohamed Meziane and other managers quit in January over the probe into Sonatrach contracts.
The Energy Ministry said some managers who had initially stepped in on an interim basis following the investigation would permanently retain their jobs. Said Sahnoun, Yamina Hamdi and Abdelkader Benchouia, vice presidents for exploration and production, marketing, and downstream, respectively, will keep their positions. The future role of Mr. Feghouli, who headed downstream before being appointed interim CEO, is unclear.
Though Sonatrach has denied its operations had suffered from the shake-up, some industry players have warned it was having an impact on Europe's third-largest natural gas supplier. Bermuda-based drilling contractor Nabors Industries Ltd. said in its first-quarter earnings statement on April 20 that "management changes at Sonatrach... have delayed the commencement of a few rigs."
The contractor still has "two rigs idle that are awaiting commencement of operations with a third party who has a contract that is still pending execution with Sonatrach," Denny Smith, director of corporate development at Nabors Industries, said on Friday.
Write to Benoit Faucon at benoit.faucon@dowjones.com
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