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Casablanca – Following its decision to halt the Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline in November 2021, Algeria has continued to lose market share in Spain, dropping to third place behind Russia.
According to the Enagas Statistical Bulletin, Spain’s energy company, Russia became the second-largest gas supplier to Spain in June, with a 24.4 % share, trailing only the United States, which possesses a 29.6% stake. Algeria is now Spain’s third-largest gas supplier, with a 21.6% share
This year, Moscow has quadrupled the amount of gas transported to Madrid amidst its invasion of Ukraine.
In June 2022, Russia exported to Spain 8,752 gigawatt-hours (GWh) compared to 2,163 GWh during the same period in 2021, reported the Ebagas in its statistical bulletin.
Conversely, gas imports from Algeria have dropped by around 57.3% compared to June 2021, from 18,123 GWh a year ago to only 7,736 GWh last month.
According to Enagas statistics, the United States is the biggest supplier of gas to Spain for the sixth consecutive month, accounting for 10,618 GWh, or 29.6% of all imported gas.
Read also: Western Sahara: Algeria Handed Morocco Spain’s Support on a Silver Platter
Algeria’s sharp drop as Spain’s primary gas supplier is a result of increasing diplomatic tensions between the two countries.
In April 2022, Algeria officially threatened to withdraw its gas export deal with Spain in retaliation to Pedro Sanchez’s endorsement of Morocco’s Western Sahara autonomy plan.
Since then, Algeria has reduced its gas supplies to Spain by 25%. According to Enagas, 234 (gigawatts/day) have been entering Spain since last May 1, compared to 312 GWh/day that was registered on March 14.
