Algeria has long been described as a country whose political system is heavily managed by a few competing interest groups. At the heart of this system is the state-run energy company Sonatrach — the lifeblood of Algeria's oil and gas sector, which accounts for 40 percent of government revenue and more than 95 percent of its exports. Like many national oil corporations with a lengthy history and an outsized political role, Sonatrach has been described as being a state within a state because of its deep-rooted political influence and control over patronage networks that its government relies on for revenue. The evolution of Algeria's hydrocarbon sector has been deeply interwoven with the country's postcolonial political history. And many of the events that have shaped its past continue to shape its future.