Algiers has been very reassembled against Madrid since the Spanish government decided in March to support the Moroccan autonomy plan for Western Sahara.
Le Monde with AFP
The Algerian Public Group of Hydrocarbons Sonatrach announced Thursday, October 6, having signed a contract with its main customer in Spain, Naturgy, to “revise” the gas prices he provides him with. The nature of this “revision” has not been specified, but Sonatrach has mentioned in recent months, in a context of diplomatic crisis between Algiers and Madrid, an increase in the prices of its gas sold to Spain.
This decision was announced at a time when courses are constantly climbing due to disturbances in the supply of Europe to Russian gas due to the war in Ukraine, the country invaded by Russia.
“Sonatrach and his partner Naturgy have agreed to revise the prices of long-term gas supply contracts existing in the light of market development, thus ensuring the balance of their contracts on a win-win basis” , said the Algerian company in a press release.
The agreement was signed in Algiers by the CEO of Sonatrach, Toufik Hakkar, and his counterpart from Naturgy, Francisco Reynes Massanet. Naturgy is the main Spanish Algerian gas buyer. The Spanish group is a quasi-pastry shareholder (49 %/51 %) with Sonatrach from Pipeline Medgaz, which directly connects Spain to the Algerian gas fields.
The question of Western Sahara
According to Enagas, manager of the Spanish gas network, Algeria was in August the second gas supplier in Spain (24 %), behind the United States (26.5 %) and ahead of Nigeria (15, 3 %). The share of Algerian gas in Spanish imports has decreased strongly in recent months, while it was still a 50 % of its imports. This drop occurred on the background of serious tensions between Algiers and Madrid.
The Algerian government has been very up to Spain since the government of the socialist Pedro Sánchez decided, in March, to support the Moroccan autonomy plan for Western Sahara, in order to end almost a year diplomatic crisis between Madrid and Rabat.
In response to this flip-flop in the traditionally neutral position of Madrid, the Algerian authorities suspended a cooperation treaty with Spain in early June. The question of Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony considered as a “non -autonomous territory” by the UN, has opposed Morocco for decades – which controls 80 % – to the separatists of the Polisario Front, supported by Algiers.