Algeria relies on production from maturing oil and natural gas fields and wants to bring foreign investors in to help exploit new resource deposits. Laws passed last year offer tax incentives for foreign companies and the government said there may be opportunities for shale oil and natural gas.

For energy companies focused on Middle East and North Africa, Algeria may be emerging as a bright spot for investment. Oil production from Libya has nearly doubled since December, but its output is far below the 1.6 million bpd from before the civil war. Frontier areas off the coast of West Africa, meanwhile, are generating attention, but development there is years away.

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who steered his country through civil war and the Arab Spring relatively unscathed, said presidential elections are scheduled for April. If the 76-year-old incumbent chooses to run, he'd almost certainly be handed a fourth term in office. If he doesn't, political transition should be relatively smooth nonetheless.

Unlike its neighbors, Algeria experienced its own turmoil decades ago and the political elite can't risk another back slide. For foreign energy companies waiting in the wings, Algeria's evolution may be the best option for an otherwise questionable regional market.

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