Algeria’s Maghreb-Europe Gas Pipeline Closure: Economic Concerns, Not Politics, Former Official Reveals

Algeria closed the Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline (GME) crossing Morocco, through which it supplied gas to Spain, in August 2021. At the time, the Algerian authorities had cited political motives, including hostile acts by Morocco, to justify this decision. However, a former senior official of the Algerian state-owned company Sonatrach, in charge of managing this pipeline, told The Objective that the cause of this decision was not political, but rather economic, assuring that the GME "was no longer profitable".

"Algeria has never cut off Morocco’s gas supply, as the gas was delivered to Spain. Morocco allowed the pipeline to Spain in exchange for billing 7% of the transit gas. As soon as gas demand decreased and two pipelines were no longer needed, the logic was to choose the one that best remunerated the small quantities of gas delivered," explained the Algerian official. After the closure of the GME, Algeria continued to deliver gas to Spain via the Medgaz, the other pipeline directly connected to that country.

He added: "It is important to understand that political power can express a position that may not be compatible with international standards. The political discourse is directed inwards." Today, Morocco is using the GME in the opposite direction to transport liquefied natural gas (LNG) purchased on the international market and transformed in the regasification plants in Spain, under an agreement with the Spanish authorities.

Algeria had threatened Spain to break its gas contract if a molecule of its gas was delivered to Morocco. The Spanish authorities, for their part, have assured that the gas sent to Morocco is not Algerian. For its part, Rabat is working to build its own regasification plants and end this dependence on Spain. Spain’s gas exports to Morocco have fallen from February to May (32% in February, 13% in March, 6% in April and 5% in May) compared to the same period last year. The kingdom is also pursuing its project of a trans-Atlantic gas pipeline with Nigeria.