Spanish Newspaper: “For these reasons, Madrid will pay a heavy price to Algeria”

“Algeria is not in a rush to make Spain pay a heavy price for its reversed position on the Western Sahara issue, because its dependence on Algerian gas will continue at least until 2035.”
This is how the Spanish newspaper “El Nacional” commented on the state of relations between Madrid and Algeria in the wake of the reversed position on the Western Sahara issue announced by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in March 2022 and his announcement of support for the Makhzanian proposal regarding a so-called “autonomy”.
The newspaper explained that the Algerian government, despite its extreme annoyance at Spain’s repositioning in the Western Sahara issue, Pedro Sanchez’s government knows that it has prepared a gift for Algeria itself and will reap it soon.
In this regard, it said, “Algeria, a major gas producer, will be the biggest beneficiary of the politically and economically inappropriate decision, which will put an end to the nuclear electricity production industry in Spain by 2035.”
As is known, the Madrid government has adopted a plan to phase out nuclear power reactors permanently by the year 2035, and the first dismantling of this type of station began in June 2022, through the Zurita reactor, which has a capacity of 142 megawatts.
In its report issued on Monday, June 10, 2024, the newspaper considered that with the completion of the plan to dismantle nuclear reactors in the country, the Spanish energy system will remain in need of reserve capabilities, which are only those that guarantee supply when renewable energy systems fail to produce energy in the absence of Sufficient storage facilities, stressing that there will only be gas-fired power plants.
In this regard, it said, “They are aware of this situation in Algeria, and for this reason their reaction to the recent measures taken by the Spanish government regarding the Maghreb was not as angry as was expected.”
The newspaper considered that Algeria’s position is clear in this regard, and it seems that it agrees with Econuclearis, a Spanish association concerned with defending the use of nuclear energy to produce electricity, when it stressed a few weeks ago that gas is the basic element in the energy transition process.
It believed that Algeria, which is rich in gas and has been a supplier to Europe since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, has a goal, and it announced this at the Forum of Heads of Gas Exporting Countries, which was held in Algiers at the end of February 2024, which is “to create a space to preserve natural gas as a low-pollution fuel necessary for the energy transition.”
The newspaper stressed that in the absence of projects to build sufficient hydraulic pumping systems to ensure an energy mix based solely on renewable energies, and in the absence of thermal power plants and with the presence of nuclear power plants doomed to dismantling, countries like Spain have no alternative but power plants that operate. With gas to ensure continuous supply.
It concluded that the time for Algeria’s turn will inevitably come, given that the Arab country is a major supplier of gas, but its role will increase more than the current situation, not because of Spain’s status as a power with the capabilities to return liquefied gas to its gaseous state (gasification) and redistribute the energy that supplies all of Europe. But because of the Spanish needs regarding gas and energy.
El National indicated that the Algerian authorities issued a clear warning that they would not tolerate one additional cubic meter of their gas ending up in Morocco, which is considered one of the destinations for Spanish gas exports.
The newspaper “El Nacional” concluded that in Algeria, which is one of the most stable countries in the Arab world, there is a complete awareness that among all the alternatives available for supplying gas to Spain, the Algerian alternative is the best and the best of all, given that Algeria has the largest gas reserves. On the African continent, it is located in the Hassi R’Mel field, in addition to the fact that this energy source causes less carbon dioxide emissions compared to coal and oil.
The newspaper quoted the comment of the Spanish “Econucleares” association, which defends the use of nuclear energy to produce electricity: “If the nuclear plants are closed, we Spaniards will pay a high price for electricity and will be subject to foreign parties.”
It added, “Algeria, which was mistreated by the government of Pedro Sanchez, will inevitably try to collect its debts,” referring to a return of the debt to the Madrid government, which will be in euros.