Natural gas imports from Algeria to Spain plummeted by 40% in 2022, with Algeria falling to second place among suppliers and representing 23.9% of Spain’s total. These figures, according to sources in the sector, will continue to fall during this year, 2023, as “orders placed during the first months of 2022 for natural gas, before relations between Moncloa and Algiers broke down, have yet to be deducted”.
And if this figure generates controversy due to Sánchez’s political turnaround with Algeria – after backing Morocco’s positions on the Sahara, breaking Spain’s traditional policy with no explanation whatsoever – the increase in natural gas orders from Russia is not negligible either. According to the annual balance sheet, Spain has increased its gas purchases from Russia by 54% over the past year, which increases its weight in the Spanish system to 12.6%, making it the fourth most important country, behind Nigeria.
The big beneficiary of 2022 was the United States. The North American country has become the leading distributor of natural gas in Spain, in the form of liquefied natural gas. Specifically, orders from the US have increased by 112% to a total of 12,552 GWh. The United States thus accounts for almost a third of the volume, with 29% at the end of 2022.
