Punishment for their solidarity with Morocco?

Punishment for their solidarity with Morocco?

Algeria has cut Spain’s natural gas supply. According to daily data from the company Enagás, responsible for maintaining and developing gas infrastructure, exports through the Medgaz pipeline fell nearly 25% last week, compared to levels recorded in mid-March, a day on Wednesday 5 May. Spanish media report.

The same source attributed this decline to Pedro Sánchez’s support for Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara, which was expressed in a letter addressed to King Mohammed VI on 14 March. Support which has been strongly condemned by Algeria. In addition, he had called back his ambassador in Madrid for “consultation” on 19 March.

The decline, seen by the company Enagás, comes after the Algerian Minister of Energy and Mines, Mohamed Aqrab, made threats on April 27 to sever the gas contract between the public company Sonatrach and its Spanish partners. The manager thus controlled the decision of his Spanish counterpart to authorize the operation of the Maghreb Europe Gas Pipeline (GME) to Morocco in reverse flow. “Any route of Algerian natural gas delivered to Spain, the destination of which is none other than as provided in the contract, shall be considered as a breach of contractual commitments, and as a result, Sonatrach shall be deemed to have lost its Spanish may result in a breach of binding contract for the customer,” he warned in a press release.

This drop, which is 70GWh per day, is a cause of concern for professionals in the sector in Spain. It comes as the European Commission seeks to impose an 80% storage level for all European countries. Spain has been asked to play a decisive role in this strategy.

In addition to this shortfall in natural gas supplies, the Algerian side is dragging its feet for the official opening of the expansion of Medgaz’s capabilities, with Sontrach, despite several calls from Spanish companies involved in the project. Another element that worries Iberian neighbors.

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