No offense to some who thought Morocco was suffocated by the shutdown of the Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline (GME), on the unilateral decision of Algiers, the reverse flow of the pipeline was activated on the 28th of the current month.
Spain has therefore started to export gas to Morocco, via the GME, reports the Iberian press, which notes that an LNG carrier bought by Morocco went to one of the Spanish regasification plants to start the unloading.
El Periódico de la Energía indicates in this regard, citing government sources, that “Based on commercial relations and good neighborliness, this Tuesday saw the first shipment by the Maghreb gas pipeline of LNG previously acquired by Morocco on international markets and unloaded in a Spanish regasification plant”.
” This is the first shipment through the Maghreb pipeline of gas previously purchased by Morocco on international markets and unloaded at a Spanish regasification plant,” we explain to Enagás, the operator and manager of the gas system in Spain
To silence the voices, which cannot be long in rising in the East, sources from the Ministry of Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, assure that a “certification procedure guarantees that this gas does not come from Algeria”.
“The interconnection will operate with EU technical rules, exactly like the interconnections with Portugal and France”they point out.
As a reminder, the Third Vice-President of the Spanish Government, Minister for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Teresa Ribera, notified her Algerian counterpart by email on April 27 of her country’s decision to authorize the operation of the GME, in reverse flow
This announcement was immediately condemned by the Algiers government, which quickly threatened that “any routing of Algerian natural gas delivered to Spain, whose destination is none other than that provided for in the contracts, will be considered as a breach of contractual commitments, and consequently, could lead to the breach of the contract binding Sonatrach to its Spanish customers.
For her part, the Moroccan Minister for Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, Leila Benali announced, on June 20 before the representatives of the Nation, the signing, in the coming days, of the first contract for the delivery of quantities of gas to Morocco. .
Morocco is preparing to receive the first deliveries of natural gas from the international market, she announced, adding that the call for tenders launched with a view to securing the supply of thermal power stations (Tahaddart and Ain Beni Mathar) has raised significant interest.
” We received dozens of responses. Following an accelerated procedure, the first contract will be signed in the coming days, next week at the latest.”said the minister.
Leila Benali had also pointed out that the gas imported from Algeria was allocated to the production of electricity, and the stoppage of its delivery led to the suspension of the Tihadart and Ain Beni Mathar power stations, without necessarily causing any shortage or insufficiency in meeting Morocco’s electricity needs.
.