Could Algeria impose itself as an alternative to Russian gas thanks to the war in Ukraine? While the conflict raises fears of disturbances in Europe where 40% of gas supplies come from Russia, the International Energy Agency (IEA) proposed, Thursday, March 3, measures to overcome this dependence, among which the search for sources “alternates” of supply like Algeria.
Italy has already examined this hypothesis as evidenced by the unexpected visit of the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Luigi Di Maio, Monday, February 28, in Algiers. Accompanied by the CEO of the Italian energy group ENI, the head of Italian diplomacy met President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, the Algerian ministers of foreign affairs and energy as well as the president of Sonatrach, the Algerian hydrocarbon company. Objective : “Conduct negotiations regarding additional quantities of gas and materialize them as soon as possible said Mr. Di Maio.
With 45% of gas imports coming from Russia, Italy is one of the European countries most at risk in the event of a drop or disruption in supplies. And Algeria, which already supplies 11% of the gas consumed on the Old Continent, could be led to play a more important role in this market. In any case, this is what Toufik Hakkar, CEO of Sonatrach, seems to want. In an interview with the Algerian daily Freedomhe declared that the Algerian group “has unused capacity on the trans-Mediterranean gas pipeline which could be used to increase supplies to the European market”.
Algeria advances in balance
Italy, Algeria’s leading foreign customer, receives 35% of the country’s gas exports through Transmed. The 2,400 kilometer gas pipeline crosses Tunisia and transports 20 billion m3 of gas for an annual capacity of 33 billion m3. “Sonatrach’s contribution could extend to countries not served by gas pipelines linking Algeria to Europe through LNG sales [gaz naturel liquéfié] »added Toufik Hakkar, assuring that the state group is “willing to support its long-term partners in difficult situations”.
After these statements were widely taken up by the foreign media, the public hydrocarbon giant nevertheless filed a complaint on February 28 against the daily Freedomaccusing him of having “manipulated and distorted” the words of its CEO. A sign that Algiers, linked to Moscow by strategic military contracts, is moving forward on this issue.
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