ALGERIA - The Decision Makers In Algeria's Energy Sector.

The petroleum sector in Algeria remains insulated from the country's civil strife, which does not seem likely to end in the near future, though the Islamist militants of the Sunni/Salafi order have proved to be a tiny minority. The top decision makers for this sector are well protected, together with a growing number of foreign oil and gas companies and their personnel operating in the country.

Algeria has been caught in a vicious cycle of violence since early 1992. This is the result of an experiment in democracy aborted by the military regime to prevent Islamic militants from taking power through the ballot. The military's move set off a war which injected a sense of urgency among Algerian decision makers to speed up liberalisation of the petroleum sector and reform the economy.

In socio-political terms, Algeria has two time zones: the state functions in the Western time zone and is secular with liberal tendencies which suit the foreign investors, while the radical Muslim opposition has an Islamic time zone which projects a different reality. The secular opposition is in the Western time zone.

There is a dividing line within the decision making system, which cuts through visible and invisible layers of authority. On the surface are pragmatic decision makers who favour negotiation with moderates among the militant Islamist groups. Below the surface are hardline generals who advocate "eradication" of all Islamic militancy. The balance of power within the invisible layer is heavily weighted in favour of eradication, while the balance in the visible layer is in favour of more practical approaches to all problems.

Likewise a dividing line cuts through the Islamic opposition: the very radical Salafi group remains set on a fight to the finish, while the less radical Front Islamique du Salut (FIS) and the more moderate Islamists have rejected the Salafi tactics. The Salafis are influenced by Osama Bin Laden.