Doha – Spain has significantly emerged as a key gas supplier to Morocco, with exports surging in recent months as the two countries look to mend diplomatic ties. The reactivation of a key pipeline is at the center of this evolving energy relationship.
In June 2022, the Spanish government reopened the Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline, which had been unilaterally closed by Algeria months earlier. The move was historic, as the pipeline, which passes through the Strait of Gibraltar and reaches Tarifa in Cádiz, is now being used to send gas from Spain to Morocco rather than its traditional role of supplying Spain with Algerian gas.
“The reactivation of the pipeline was a nod from the Spanish government to Morocco, a country with which it was trying – and is achieving – to rebuild diplomatic relations and foster closeness,” explained David Page, a journalist and analyst at El Periódico de España. “It was an aid to Rabat to get the natural gas it had stopped receiving due to Algeria’s decision to close the pipeline.”
Data from the Corporation of Strategic Reserves of Petroleum Products (Cores) reveals that in January, Morocco became the top destination for gas exports from Spain for the first time ever. The Strait of Gibraltar pipeline sent 868 gigawatt hours (GWh) equivalent of natural gas from Spanish plants to Morocco, accounting for more than 28% of all exports that month.
Re-exports of gas from Spain to Morocco have cumulatively exceeded 9,800 GWh in the past year, making the North African kingdom the second largest destination for gas shipments from Spanish facilities, second only to France.
“The maximum export capacity of the pipeline from Tarifa is 960 GWh per month,” says the report based on combined data from Cores and Enagás, the operator of the Spanish gas system and pipeline network. “In the last year and a half, there have been several months where more than 90% of this maximum pumping has been used.”
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However, this newfound, growing energy cooperation between Madrid and Rabat risks further straining Spain’s diplomatic relations with Algeria, traditionally its main gas supplier. The rift between Madrid and Algiers was triggered by the Spanish government’s shift in its stance on Western Sahara, now backing Morocco’s autonomy plan to the dismay of the Algerian regime.
The Spanish government insists that no Algerian gas is being resold to Morocco, as required by Algiers. According to the report by El Periódico de España, “all the gas re-exported from Spain to Morocco has a certificate and monitoring of origin to ensure that no molecule from Algeria is sent.”
While Spain is not strictly selling gas to Morocco, its role is to receive ships with gas purchased by Rabat from any supplier country at its regasification plants and send it through the Tarifa pipeline to Morocco.
“Madrid has been giving a helping hand to Morocco in the midst of the energy crisis while both countries intensify and try to redirect their bilateral relations,” said Page. “The nod to Morocco, however, has served to further strain the diplomatic clash between Spain and Algeria.”
The Algerian government has blocked commercial relations with Spain, although it has begun to relax this veto very partially. It also threatened to break gas supply contracts with Spanish companies if it detects that part of the gas ends up being resold to Morocco, with which it has also broken off diplomatic relations over the Western Sahara issue.
“The Spanish government completely denies that Algerian gas could be redirected to Morocco and has activated a special plan to avoid such a possibility,” the report stated.
As Spain navigates this delicate diplomatic balance, its role as a key energy partner for Morocco continues to grow. With pipeline exports hitting record levels, this evolving relationship is likely to shape the region’s geopolitical landscape in the months and years ahead.
