Occidental Petroleum has suspended the sale process of its oil assets in Algeria, which account for nearly 1/4 of the total crude oil production in the country with around 260,000 bbl/d, and the group will seek to divest other assets to reduce its massive debt.
In May 2019, Occidental Petroleum took over Anadarko and agreed to sell Anadarko’s assets in Algeria, Ghana, Mozambique and South Africa to Total for US$8.8bn. In Algeria, Anadarko held two blocks (404a and 208) and a 24.5% stake in the Berking basin (Hassi Berkine, Ourhoud and El Merk fields), in which Total already owns 12.25%. In December 2019, Algeria’s state-owned oil and gas company Sonatrach exerted its pre-emption right on Anadarko's interests in Algeria, blocking the sale of those assets to Total. According to the Ministry of Energy, the sale of Anadarko's assets in Algeria to Total is incompatible with the new energy law that bans majority foreign ownership in hydrocarbons projects. In May 2020, Algerian authorities blocked the sale and Total withdrew from the agreement.
Occidental Petroleum is heavily indebted after the US$38bn acquisition of Anadarko and is facing US$6.4bn of debt coming due in 2021 and another US$4.7bn coming due in 2022. Earlier in 2020, the group had to write down US$6.6bn of oil and gas assets to reflect falling prices