Algeria has strengthened its position on the global gas market. In October, it became the main supplier to the European Union, overtaking Russia, according to updated statistics from the European platform Eurostat, reported this Wednesday, December 18 by the Russian media Russia Today.
According to this data, Algeria now supplies more than a fifth of the gas needs of European Union countries. In September, Russia had temporarily regained its position as Europe’s leading gas supplier, lost after the start of the war in Ukraine in February 2022. However, Algeria overtook it in October.
During this month, Algerian gas exports to the EU reached a value of more than 1.3 billion euros, an increase of 200 million euros compared to September (1.1 billion). Algeria had thus supplied 21.6% of total European imports, which placed it in first position ahead of Russia.
In comparison, Russian gas exports in September accounted for €1.4 billion, or 23.7% of total EU imports. But in October, these deliveries fell by 6%, reaching 1.3 billion euros. The United States, with gas exports worth 1.2 billion euros in October, comes third among suppliers to the European Union, followed by Norway (777 million euros) and the Azerbaijan (431 million euros). In October, total EU imports amounted to €6.15 billion in value, up 5% compared to September.
Algeria remains a key supplier thanks to its two main gas pipelines: Medgaz, which connects Algeria to Spain, and Transmed, which serves Italy. However, a third gas pipeline, the GME (Maghreb-Europe Gas Pipeline), linking Algeria to Spain via Morocco, has been closed since November 2021 due to the diplomatic crisis between Algiers and Rabat.
During the month of November, Algeria was largely the main supplier of gas to Spain, with 46% of the shares, far ahead of Russia (21.5%), the United States (10.9%) and Nigeria (7%). Since the start of the year, Algeria has consolidated its role as a major supplier, with 38.7% of Spanish imports, ahead of Russia (21.3%), the United States (17.2%) and the Nigeria (6.8%).
Algeria is stepping up its efforts to increase its gas deliveries, in response to growing demand from Europe which seeks to reduce its dependence on Russian hydrocarbons. In December 2023, Sonatrach announced an investment plan of $50 billion until 2028, of which $36 billion concerns the exploration and production of gas and oil.
A year earlier, in December 2022, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune set the goal of doubling the country’s gas production. This production, estimated at just over 100 billion cubic meters per year, must cover local needs and exports in equal parts.
Earlier this month, Sonatrach also launched a new phase of the project« Boosting Hassi R’Mel ». This project aims to extend the viability of the Hassi R’Mel deposit, the largest in the country, and to increase the volumes extracted. According to the specialist site Energy News, Algerian production has already reached 137 billion cubic meters. The objective set is now to produce 200 billion cubic meters per year by 2028.
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