Spain to establish new system to guarantee gas provenance

Spain will set up a system to guarantee the origin of gas exported to Morocco so that it is not of Algerian origin, following Algeria’s repeated demands and threats.

The Spanish government, after having assured that gas exported to Morocco would not be of Algerian origin, is currently working to develop a system to ensure the origin of gas to the Kingdom, according to El Periódico de la Energía.

Ordered by the Spanish Ministry of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, the implementation of this system has been entrusted to the national gas company Enagás, as operator and manager of the Spanish gas system, says the Spanish media, citing Enagás sources.

This new procedure should be approved in the coming weeks to lessen Algeria’s concern, and allow Spain to export gas to Morocco with no diplomatic feuds, says El Periódico de la Energía.

The novel system that will guarantee the gas origin has yet to be disclosed, but sources had explained to Hespress EN that “secrecy is logistically impossible” when it comes to Spain possibly breaking its promise to Algeria, as the gas facilities allocated for each transfer have been decided, and are “separate and far from each other.”

Madrid recently announced, alongside Rabat, that it would deliver gas to Morocco via the Morocco-European gas pipeline (GME). In response, Algeria threatened to break its gas contract with Spain if the latter transferred Algerian gas to a third destination.

Rabat will be able to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) on the international markets, to be delivered to Spain where it will be regasified before being transported to Morocco via the GME.

Considering how there was no available method of verification regarding the provenance of Spain’s gas influx towards Morocco, this new system will ease Algiers’ concerns, and maintain Algerian-Spanish energy relations in the midst of diplomatic differences.