Italian engineering company Maire Tecnimont eyes opportunities in Algeria

Italian engineering company Maire Tecnimont hopes to pick up business from Sonatrach as the Algerian state-owned energy company's new management starts investing again.

Maire Tecnimont, which works in the refining, petrochemicals and fertilizer industries, saw opportunities in gas-rich Algeria as the country reorders its energy sector and restarts projects.OPEC member Algeria is a major gas supplier to Europe but has been hard hit by a slump in world oil prices and has struggled to attract energy investments

The company, traditionally strong in Russia and the Middle East, saw revenue jump 44 percent to 3.5 billion euros ($4.3 billion) last year, supported by a record order backlog worth 7.2 billion euros.

Last June the company, which employs around 8,000 people in 40 countries, signed a bumper 3.9 billion euro contract with Russia's Gazprom.