The Algerian public oil and gas group Sonatrach has assured this Friday that it does not rule out a "recalculation" the price of gas delivered to Spain, in a context of diplomatic tensions between Algiers and Madrid over the question of Western Sahara.
"Since the beginning of the crisis in Ukraine, gas and oil prices have skyrocketed. Algeria has decided to maintain, for all its customers, relatively correct contract prices. However, it is not excluded to proceed with a recalculation of prices with our Spanish client, "said its general director, Toufik Hakkar, to the official agency APS.
Abandonment of neutrality
Radical change over Western Sahara
Spain, heavily dependent on Algeria for its gas supply, made a radical change of position on the sensitive issue of Western Sahara, its former colony, on March 18.
The Spanish government publicly supported for the first time the Moroccan project of autonomy of Western Sahara, while Madrid had always maintained a neutral position between Rabat and the Saharawi separatists of the Polisario Front, supported by Algiers.
Denouncing a "turnaround", Algiers withdrew its ambassador to Spain on March 19. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez then vowed to "do everything possible to restore woefully damaged diplomatic relations" with one of Spain's main gas suppliers.
According to Rabat, he is expected to visit Morocco soon, at the invitation of King Mohammed VI, as part of the normalization of bilateral diplomatic relations after a year of estrangement.
The conflict in Western Sahara, a vast desert territory rich in phosphates and with abundant waters, pits Morocco against The Polisario separatists since the departure of the Spaniards in 1975.
Sonatrach suggests "promising prospects with Europe"
Asked about the possibility of Algeria increasing its delivery capacity to Europe, which is looking for alternatives to Russian gas, Hakkar explained that Sonatrach has "currently a few billion that cannot replace Russian gas."
On the other hand, "with the pace of our explorations, our capabilities will double in four years, which suggests promising prospects with our European customers," said the CEO of Sonatrach.
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