Spain to Supply Morocco with Gas, Potentially Ending Algeria’s Role

On Thursday, the Spanish Minister of Ecological Transition confirmed that Morocco had asked his country for help to import gas that it will buy on international markets in the form of liquefied gas and that Spain "had responded positively" to this request. "Morocco will be able to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) on international markets, unload it in a regasification plant in Spain and use the Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline to transport it to its territory," he specified in a press release, without providing further details.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Leila Benali, Moroccan Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, had stated that Morocco had invited, in early January, a small group of LNG traders to bid for contracts. She also specified that the kingdom plans to sign agreements of at least five years with these traders to guarantee LNG supply as soon as Morocco has its first regasification unit which will be installed in the port of Mohammedia.

"The Spanish decision deals a double blow to Algeria, which hoped to isolate Morocco and prevent the kingdom from reaping the benefits of the gas transiting through the Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline," Moroccan observers told The Arab Weekly. According to them, this decision is not only a failure for Algeria, which wanted to undermine relations between Madrid and Rabat, but could also push Morocco to remove Algeria from its list of gas suppliers in the near future. "What most confuses Algeria is that the Spanish decision is supported by Europe and that any Algerian objection to it could undermine Europe’s confidence in Algeria as a gas supplier," the observers added.

The Spanish decision "is a victory for Morocco’s economic diplomacy," said Nabil al-Andalusi, a researcher in international relations. According to him, the kingdom is defending its interests at a time when Algeria is trying to threaten its energy security. "The Spanish decision is a painful blow to the Algerian regime and will be a major embarrassment for Algeria diplomatically and economically," added the academic.