Spain seeks greater gas imports from Algeria as EU faces supply risks

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited Algeria, meeting President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and Prime Minister Aimene Ben Abderrahman. The delegation included the vice‑president and minister for the Ecological Transition, Sara Aagesen, the foreign minister José Manuel Albares, and executives from Spain’s main energy firms Naturgy, Repsol, Moeve (formerly Cepsa) and Enagás. The talks focused on strengthening political ties and expanding energy cooperation, particularly increasing Algerian gas supplies to Spain via the Medgaz submarine pipeline and boosting renewable‑energy and green‑hydrogen projects. Algeria supplied about 34.5 % of Spain’s gas imports in 2025 and roughly 29 % in the first two months of 2026, with bilateral trade reaching €8.5 billion in 2025.

Separately, Naturgy warned that the EU could face a gas‑supply shortfall after the total ban on Russian gas scheduled for 2027 and the uncertainty surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, which could cut global LNG availability by up to 20 %. The company highlighted that EU gas storage levels are at their lowest in five years, making a cold winter in 2027 a potential trigger for shortages. It cited the recent political agreement between Spain and Algeria as a means for Spain to increase Algerian gas imports and mitigate the looming risk.