A 1,kilometre pipeline which lies empty is an unusual sight. All the more so when it links two continents Africa and Europe and four countries Algeria, Morocco, Spain and Portugal. Building its underwater section under the Strait of Gibraltar was a technical feat of the Italian company Saipem which, in the early s, had conceived and constructed the first underwater gas pipeline in the world linking Tunisia and Italy, under the Strait of Sicily.
The flow of gas in the Enrico Mattei pipeline which carries Algerian gas to Italy through Tunisia has never been interrupted since Nor have the exports of Algerian liquefied natural gas LNG - through a revolutionary process developed by Shell in Arzew in the early s.
The crisis in the Maghreb has parallels with the recurring tensions between Russia and Ukraine which pushed Russia to build the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines to avoid depending on transit through Ukraine. However, as from 1 November, Algerian gas is no longer exported to and through Morocco, through the Maghreb-Europe Gas Pipeline also known as Pere Duran Farell pipeline which has been up and running since Thus, in this context, Spain has, since late summer, been receiving a greater volume of gas through the two lines supplying it from Algeria than the contractual volume.
Algeria could also increase it gas exports to Italy via the Transmed gasline if Italy and Spain can find a way of swapping gas. Morocco for its part will have to fall back on other energy sources, though it has asked Spain to consider setting up a reverse-flow system on the MGE.
Such a system requires time and money to set up. The Alawi kingdom will have to increase output from its coal-fired plants and, if it is available, import more electricity from Spain. The MGE has a capacity of 13 bcm but, in , only 7 bcm was passing through the pipeline, of which 2.
