Algeria Halts LNG Exports to Spain Amid Diplomatic Tensions over Western Sahara

Spain did not receive any LNG from Algeria in July and August. The last methane carriers arrived from this country date back to June, according to data from the system operator. For more than two months, Spain has been supplied with LNG from the United States and Russia, with Algeria only sending natural gas via the Medgaz pipeline.

This interruption of Algerian LNG shipments coincides with the start of the diplomatic crisis with Spain after Pedro Sanchez’s decision to support the Moroccan autonomy plan for the Sahara. After this change in Spain’s position in March, Algeria recalled its ambassador to Madrid and suspended the treaty of friendship, good neighborliness and cooperation with Spain in June, effectively ending trade between the two countries.

At the end of April, the Algerian Ministry of Energy threatened Spain with breaking its gas contract if it supplied gas to Morocco. "Any shipment of Algerian natural gas to Spain, the destination of which is not that provided for in the contracts, will be considered a breach of contractual commitments," it said in a statement. Two months later, Spain was sending regasified LNG to Morocco for the first time via the Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline in the opposite direction.

This is not the first time that Algeria has stopped sending LNG to Spain. It has already done so in January and February. From January to August, Algeria provided 4,478 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of LNG to Spain, compared to 13,465 the previous year, which is less than one ship per month. In the coming months, Algeria plans to strengthen its gas contracts with Italy and France at the expense of Spain, which needs this essential partner to cope with the current energy crisis.