Algeria Considers Gas Price Hike for Spain Amid Diplomatic Tensions and Energy Crisis

The Algerian national energy company, Sonatrach, announced on Friday the possibility of "recalculating" the price of gas supply to Spain, in a context of rising gas and oil prices since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24. Algeria "has decided to maintain relatively correct prices for all its customers, but it is not excluded to recalculate the prices with our Spanish customers," said Toufik Hakkar, the CEO of Sonatrach, to the Algerian news agency APS.

Sonatrach will invest about $40 billion (about €36.2 billion) over the next four years to explore and exploit oil and gas fields, Hakkar said, announcing an increase in Algeria’s gas production capacity, "which bodes well for European customers."

The Portuguese and Italian governments have already sent delegations to Algeria to discuss with the Algerian authorities the possibility of gas supply.