Algeria’s Paved Road to Dominate Gas Supplies in Europe

The Italian Foreign Ministry considered that the current circumstances have paved the way for Algeria and placed it in front of a unique opportunity, to become the main supplier of natural gas to the old continent in the long term, adding to its huge potential for solar energy, as it is not excluded that Algeria will build the largest solar plant in the world.

it was stated on the “export.gov.it” website, which is an initiative created by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and a tool dedicated to Italian companies to search for opportunities and present themselves abroad, that Algeria, as the largest African country in terms of area and the first exporter of natural gas also in Africa, has become an increasingly important partner for Italy and its companies, explaining that the current potential is very large, but all conditions are also available to increase economic relations and investments in this country.

In a lengthy and detailed presentation on the opportunities offered by this partner to Italy, the website explained that Algeria is currently trying to take advantage of the geopolitical situation, the state of competition between great powers and the ongoing energy crisis, in the best possible way, to strengthen its role as a major player in the Mediterranean.

According to him, Europe’s gradual abandonment of Russian energy supplies has paved the way for Algeria to be the first supplier of natural gas to the European continent, explaining that Algeria has a unique opportunity to play this role in the long term, in addition to its huge potential in the field of solar energy and its availability on more than 3,000 hours of sunshine in the desert areas in the south of the country.

“It is not surprising that Algeria is building one of the largest solar energy fields in the world,” as Italy and Algeria had previously signed a joint declaration and four memorandums of understanding in various sectors, the source added.

The Italian Foreign Ministry’s initiative revealed that the memorandums signed between Sonatrach and Eni allow raising Algerian gas supplies to Italy to 35 billion cubic meters annually, as well as reducing carbon emissions, and the possibility of exploiting other fields that are currently being explored.

Regarding last year’s exchanges between the two countries, the initiative revealed that Italy imported from Algeria a value of 18 billion and 227 million euros, up from 6 billion and 186 million euros in 2021.

As for Italian exports to Algeria, they amounted in 2022 to a total of 2 billion and 312 million euros, after they were in the range of 1 billion and 761 billion euros in 2021.

Regarding the relations between the two countries, it was mentioned in the report that they are not indicated only on the energy file, explaining that they have always been strong, but they intensified and were further strengthened after the state visit of President Sergio Mattarella to Algiers in November 2021, followed by the visit of Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune to Rome in May 2022, as well as the visits of Prime Ministers Mario Draghi and Giorgia Meloni.