France Competes With Algeria In The Spanish Gas Market

France becomes the second supplier of gas to Spain with a quota of 10.6%, after Sonatrach, which dominated the Spanish market for the sixth month in a row, with 42.2%, reaching 1.53 billion cubic meters during last January, Official Spanish statistics said.

The Spanish data shows that the removal of Sonatrach from the forefront of the Spanish gas market last July has become part of the past due to the tightening of its grip on this market for the sixth month in a row, with a large difference from its previous competitors from the Middle East and North America.

In this context, the document on import and export of gas in Spain for January issued by the Spanish Corporation for Strategic Reserve of Petroleum Products “CORES” (which copy is available to Echorouk), shows that Sonatrach’s gas exports to Spain amounted to 1.53 billion cubic meters (15 349 gigawatt-hour), which represents 42% of Spain’s needs during January 2021.

According to the same document, 1.24 billion cubic meters of gas were imported from Algeria via pipelines, while the remaining 288 million cubic meters of LNG were imported via ships.

Sonatrach’s closest competitor in the Spanish market changed its geographical position after it was represented in Qatar and North American suppliers, to become France, after its gas exports to Spain in January reached 367 million cubic meters, which represents 10% of the Spanish needs.

The French rise in the Spanish gas market is due to the cold wave that swept Spain last January following the Philomena snowstorm, which increased purchases of either natural gas or liquefied gas from France.

The significant decline in gas suppliers from the Middle East (Qatar), North and Central and South America are also noticeable during January 2021.