Algeria's Sonatrach appoints new chief executive-sources

(Adds confirmation from presidential statement)

By Lamine Chikhi

ALGIERS, May 24 (Reuters) - Algeria's state energy firm Sonatrach has picked a new chief executive to replace an interim head appointed less than a year ago and has also replaced more than 20 other managers in a major shake-up, two industry sources said on Sunday.

Amine Mazouzi, a younger-generation manager in Sonatrach's production development department, will take the helm as the North African country seeks to draw more foreign oil investment and offset a fall in world crude prices.

Sonatrach officials did not immediately confirm the changes.

Meanwhile state news agency APS said President Abdelaziz Bouteflika had ordered changes in the management of public financial institutions and companies "without delay" but did not give any names or details.

An official notice appointing Mazouzi had been expected later on Sunday, the two industry sources said.

One of the sources said a total of 22 Sonatrach group managers had been changed in the shake-up.

OPEC member Algeria, a key gas supplier for Europe, failed to attract a lot of foreign interest in its most recent round of oil and gas exploration licensing last year. Oil companies have complained about offer terms and bureaucratic red tape.

But it needs foreign investment to help increase oil and gas production. Oil output has been running at around 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) in recent years, though Sonatrach said this month it would increase production by at least 32,000 bpd from July by starting production at two fields.

Mazouzi, the son of a respected veteran of Algeria's war of independence against France, is an experienced Sonatrach hand. The state firm has had five chief executives in five years, however, a sign of the turmoil Sonatrach has faced.

The expected changes at Sonatrach come just days after a new energy minister and finance minister were named in a cabinet reshuffle by the president. The energy minister, Salah Khebri, is also seen as an experienced technocrat.

Sonatrach's operations are the motor of Algeria's economy. A drop in world oil prices since last summer, however, has prompted some measures to curb spending, including Sonatrach asking service suppliers for a 10-15 percent cut in their prices.

In the first four months of the year, export revenues fell 41 percent to $13.4 billion because of lower crude prices, according to customs figures provided by state news agency APS.

Oil and gas exports, which accounted for 93.5 percent of Algeria's total exports, declined 42.8 percent to $12.54 billion in the January-April period, according to customs figures

Sonatrach, which works as a majority partner in joint ventures with foreign firms such as BP and Repsol in Algeria, has also been hit by a series of corruption scandals in recent years. (Reporting by Lamine Chikhi; Writing by Patrick Markey; Editing by DDale Hudson and Greg Mahlich)