Madrid assures that the production delivered to Morocco will not come from Algeria

While Algeria has cut off gas to Morocco since October 2021, Spain has assured that it will deliver gas to Morocco, but that it will not come from Algeria. Algiers threatened to break its contract with Spain if it diverted Algerian gas “to a third destination”that is to say to Morocco.

Concretely, Rabat will be able to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) on international markets, have it delivered to Spain where it will be regasified before being transported to Morocco via the Maghreb Europe Gas Pipeline (GME). “The activation of this mechanism has been discussed with Algeria in recent months and communicated on April 27, 2022 to the Algerian Minister” of Energy, specified the Spanish Ministry of Ecological Transition on April 27.

“Under no circumstances will the gas acquired by Morocco be of Algerian origin.”

Spanish Ministry of Ecological Transition

in a press release

While Spain’s dependence on Algerian gas has decreased in recent months, nearly 25% of gas imported by Spain still came from Algeria in the first quarter of 2022 compared to more than 40% in 2021, according to the operator of the Spanish gas network. This gas is delivered to Spain by the Algerian hydrocarbon giant Sonatrach via the undersea Medgaz gas pipeline which directly connects the two countries.

In October 2021, Algiers stopped selling gas to Morocco through the GME due to a diplomatic crisis between the two countries over Western Sahara.

Madrid has approached the Moroccan position on this explosive file. A spectacular diplomatic reversal very badly received in Algiers. The conflict in the former Spanish colony has pitted Morocco against the Polisario Front for decades. The main support of the Sahrawi separatists of the Polisario Front, Algeria has not taken off since Spain decided in mid-March to support the Moroccan autonomy plan for Western Sahara in order to put an end to almost a year of diplomatic crisis. with Flap.

In response, Algiers recalled its ambassador to Spain while Sonatrach did not rule out increasing the price of gas delivered to Spain. On April 23, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune described Madrid’s reversal on Western Sahara of “morally and historically unacceptable”, while ensuring that Algeria does not “would never renounce its commitments to supply gas to Spain”.