Algeria settles issue of gas double price

ALGIERS - Double price of gas, an issue troubling Algeria's accession talks with the WTO, has been settled, Algerian Director of Relations with the WTO said on Tuesday.

"The issue has been settled in accordance to both the measures mentioned in the hydrocarbon law, issued in 2007, and the competition," Mohamed El Hadi Belarima told a trade conference held in Algiers on Tuesday, which was organized by the Diplomacy and International Relations Institute.

The Algerian government reserves its right to fixing gas prices in the local market, but only after consulting with the operators, the official said.

"An economic price, which covers the cost and provides an acceptable profit margin for the operators, will be thus agreed on after the consultation," he said.

Submitting its WTO accession application in 1987, Algeria has since engaged in multilateral and bilateral negotiations. The North African nation has been through 11 rounds of talks, the last of which was held in Geneva in December 2011.