Algeria guarantees the gas supply to Spain

Algeria guarantees the gas supply to Spain

Algeria guarantees the gas supply to Spain. image: maghreb-europe

ALGERIA has guaranteed the continuity of the gas supply to Spain after a meeting in Algiers

Jose Manuel Albares, the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, travelled to Algeria today, Thursday, September 30, where after holding meetings with officials in Algiers, he uttered the welcome words, “I have received the guarantee of gas supply from Algeria to Spain, as well as the Algerian commitment to satisfy Spanish demand”.

Alabares was accompanied by Antoni Llarden, the president of Enagas, and Antoni Basolas, one of the directors of Naturgy, who were met initially by Abdelmadjid Tebboune, the president of the Algerian republic.

The Minister then met with his counterpart, Ramtam Lamamra, while Llarden and Basolas met with executives from Sonatrach, the powerful Algerian state gas company.

It was a trip that needed to be made, in view of the recent breakdown in diplomatic relations between Algeria and Morocco, and the possibility of a gas supply problem this coming winter.

Algeria has made it abundantly clear to Rabat that it is prepared to cut off the gas supply to Morocco on October 31, a circumstance that would have subsequent repercussions in Spain and Portugal, as the Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline, which connects with the Iberian peninsula through the Strait of Gibraltar, becomes unusable.

If the two lines of the Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline were to be closed off, it would force Spain to concentrate on shipping gas through the Medgaz gas single pipeline, which directly connects Algeria with the Almeria coastline through the Alboran Sea.

One single pipeline from Medgaz would not be enough to supply the 13bcb of gas that it currently receives from Algeria annually, which would then mean having to take supplies of liquified gas, which would raise the price to consumers, and also affect Portugal who use the same supply line as Spain.

Spain currently receives between 40 to 45 per cent of its gas from Algeria, with the rest coming from countries including the United States and Nigeria, and to a lesser degree, Russia, as reported by lavanguardia.com.

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Written by

Chris King

Originally from Wales, Chris spent years on the Costa del Sol before moving to the Algarve where he is a web reporter for The Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com

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