PRUDENCE AND DECISION MAKING: THE COMPAGNIE FRANÇAISE DES PÉTROLES (ALGÉRIE) AND THE ALGERIANIZATION OF ITS PERSONNEL (1962-1971)

Abstract

With the discovery of oil in the Sahara in 1956, France gained access to both a huge quantity
of hydrocarbon that it could sell in its national currency and the potential for energy self-sufficiency. In 1962, Algerian independence called into question on-going French exploration
and production in the Sahara and, between 1962 and 1971, French oil companies needed to
reorganize to maintain their presence in the country. When the Algerian government claimed
ownership of Saharan oil resources and threatened to nationalize them, the Compagnie Française
des Pétroles d’Algérie (CFP (A)) and the Société Nationale de Recherche et d’Exploitation du
Pétrole en Algérie (SNREPAL) decided to adopt a new human resource policy by replacing
French expatriates with Algerian personnel. During this period of postcolonial economic
transition, the adoption of this policy of “Algerianization” helped stabilize the position of the
French oil companies in the Sahara as the first generation of Algerian engineers and technicians was trained. The Algerianization plan led to the reversal of the proportion of French
and Algerian personnel in French oil companies and it contributed to the social promotion of
Algerian agents and to the reconfiguration of social relations between former colonizers and
former colonized people. SNREPAL carried out an “Algerianization from above” with Algerian
government representatives on the executive board of the company, while CFP (A) adopted
an “Algerianization from below” strategy. This strategy of prudence ensured the continuity
of CFP (A)’s exploration and production activity in Algeria when hydrocarbon resources were
nationalized in 1971.