Total Files Arbitration Against Contract Terms in Algeria

 French oil major Total has filed a request for arbitration against its contract terms in Algeria, CEO Patrick Pouyanne said on Saturday.

"We tried as always to find a mutual agreement first, it failed, so we decided that we would seek arbitration," Pouyanne told Reuters on the sidelines of a business conference in Aix-en-Provence.

Total and its Spanish partner Repsol have initiated litigation against Algeria and its state oil company, Sonatrach, challenging the way Algiers retroactively changed a profit-sharing terms on oil and gas contracts, daily Le Monde said earlier on Saturday.

The two groups filed a request to the Geneva-based Court of International Arbitration in May for the dispute that dates back to the mid-2000s, Le Monde said.

(Reporting by Michel Rose, writing by Sybille de La Hamaide)