This report intends to obtain a global view of the situation in both countries, by understanding the interrelations of the main factors and how they may affect possible future developments. Broadly speaking, we find the following main points that will be more extensively developed in this report: 1 ) First, in 1996 Algeria and Nigeria are both still under complicated political frameworks that threaten the so needed economic development. 2) In both countries, developments in the energy sector are determinant for their economic development as a whole. Both countries are endowed with huge hydrocarbon resources with an extraordinary potential. This great relative advantage has not been profited in the best way, but furthermore it has affected their performance in other fields of their economies. The hydrocarbon sector, as a part of the energy sector, will be deeply analyzed due to its large contribution to their respective economies.