Algerian state owned oil consortium, Sonatrach has won a law suit against Spanish Repsol in the International Court of Arbitration over profit sharing. The Spanish company, together with other firms, had alleged that Sonatrach took advantage of the 2006 agreement to increase taxes on incurred profits, reported Algeria Times.

At the time of the dispute, the barrel price exceeded $30, and the oil major was seen to claim an additional tax ranging from 5% to 50% of the value of production featured in revised contracts. Accordingly, the companies filed a request for arbitration against Sonatrach in late May, informed Africa News.

Moreover, Total had also filed a request for arbitration against Algeria for changing profit-sharing terms on oil and gas contracts in the mid-2000s. Attempts to reach a mutual agreement had failed.

This comes as Algeria, hard hit by the crash in oil prices, is seeking new investment to help it build up production from mature fields and explore new areas. Egypt Oil&Gas reported earlier that a source at Sonatrach said that Algeria expects to produce more than 9bcm/y additional gas output, when  three projects came online during 2017.