BP and Statoil say their security concerns have yet to be fully met. Their absence has set back, by at least a year, billion-dollar projects to boost output at both In Amenas and In Salah, another key gas project in the Algerian Sahara, where the two firms also partner Algerian state firm Sonatrach. This comes as Algeria’s gas output, and export revenue, are in decline.

The firms withdrew their workers from both projects in the aftermath of the attack. Even at In Salah, 600km west of In Amenas, workers are only just starting to trickle back. (CONTINUED - 716 WORDS)