Total will meet Algerian authorities for talks over its plans to buy Anadarko’s assets in the country and is not worried by media reports that Algiers would block the deal, Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanne said on Wednesday.

“We will meet Algerian authorities very soon,” Pouyanne told shareholders at the company’s annual meeting in Paris. “We are not worried. It is normal that authorities seek to have dialogue with their principal partners and Total is one of the partners of Algeria.” Algeria’s energy minister said on Monday he would seek a “good compromise” when asked about his earlier comments that Algiers would block Total’s plan.

Occidental Petroleum has agreed to sell Anadarko’s assets in Algeria, Ghana, Mozambique and South Africa to Total for $8.8 billion if the U.S. oil company succeeds in completing a takeover of Anadarko. Pouyanne said Anadarko’s Africa assets were at the heart of Total’s strategy to remain a leading oil company in Africa and the global liquefied natural gas (LNG) market.

Source: Reuters