Rabat – Algeria’s liquefied natural gas exports to Spain have reached “lowest historical level,” Spanish news outlet El Mundo reported on December 27.
The quantity of gas exported to Spain through Algeria stood at 5,40 gigawatts/h in November, representing a 74% decrease compared to the amount exported in the same period last year.
Citing data compiled by the Spanish energy company Enagas, El Mundo reported that the gas exported from Algeria to Spain had never dropped below 10,000 GWh in the past seven years, except in 2020 due to the COVID-induced global economic shutdown.
El Mundo attributed the notable drop in Algerian exports to Spain to the ongoing diplomatic feud between the two countries.
Spain’s decision earlier this year to endorse Morocco’s Autonomy Plan as the most serious and credible basis to end the dispute over Western Sahara did not sit well with Algeria.
In fact, the Algerian regime furiously responded to Spain’s support for the Moroccan initiative by freezing a 20-year-old friendship treaty with Madrid.
Algeria’s regime, which sponsors the Polisario Front, the separatist group seeking independence in the Western Sahara region in southern Morocco, also announced a batch of restrictions on banking operations with Spain.
In July, however, Algeria’s Professional Association of banks and financial institutions said it would soon be lifting the restrictions on banking operations with Spain.
The association’s announcement came after the EU pressured Algeria into backing down on its restrictions against Spain.
Algerian news outlet Algerie Part quoted sources who stressed that the EU’s pressure triggered Algeria’s reversal of a number of decisions regarding trade with Spain.
