Algeria loses the push against Spain: gas rises by 24%

Algeria puts an end to its attempt to blackmail the Spanish state. The diplomatic assault began after Pedro Sánchez passed through the Congress of Deputies on Tuesday to ratify the decision to value the Moroccan proposal for the Sahara as a basis for unblocking the situation of the Spanish exterritory. 

After breaking the Friendship, Good Neighbourliness and Cooperation agreement that articulated a large part of bilateral cooperation between Spain and Algeria, the government headed by Abdelmajid Tebboune toyed with the idea of freezing all types of commercial transactions and operations between Spain and Algeria, 91 percent of which concern hydrocarbon products on the Algerian side, but which on the Spanish side include a range of sectors and products with an interesting market share, boosted since the signing of the agreements in 2002. 

The threat to these trade relations and to the supply of gas by Sonatrach to Naturgy through the MedGaz pipeline raised protests and doubts about the Spanish government's ability to manage this crisis. A trip to Brussels by the Spanish foreign minister, José Manuel Albares, was able to put an end to the Algerian adventure. A communiqué from the Algerian delegation to the European Union has now rectified the shot and finally denies any of the threats that could have been understood. 

"As for the government's alleged move to halt current transactions with a European partner, it exists only in the minds of those who claim it and those who have been quick to stigmatise it," reads the foreign government's communiqué, relegating the alleged threats to the level of rumours. 

"On the other hand, as far as gas supplies to Spain are concerned, Algeria has already made it known, through the most authoritative voice, that of the President of the Republic, that it will continue to honour all its commitments in this context, with the commercial companies concerned being responsible for fulfilling all their contractual commitments", it continues with regard to gas. 

Already from the outset, various analyses in the Spanish media were confident that Algerian gas supplies to Spain would continue, mainly because of the contractual binding that prevents Algeria from redrawing the broad outlines of the agreement or cancelling it until 2032. According to sources at Naturgy, the company that signed the agreement on the Spanish side, it had total confidence at all times in the fulfilment of the contract with Sonatrach and the Algerian government. 

It should be added that the supply of gas through the MedGaz pipeline, 49% owned by Naturgy, has increased by 24% since 8 June and, according to the daily monitoring data provided by Enagás, continues at these levels.
 
In April, the transport of gas through the pipeline linking Algeria with Almeria fell by a quarter of its total, from around 310 Gwh/day to the minimum of 214 Gwh/day reached on 2 June. From 7 June onwards, there was a considerable rise, raising the volume of transport to Spain to 257 GWh/day, in contrast to the episode of crisis in relations between Spain and Algeria.