Spain-Maghreb Energy Radar | September 2026

Algeria retains its lead in gas cumulative supply despite the August rebound in US LNG

The spectacular growth in gas imports from the United States since July (+289%) has enabled it to regain its position as Spain’s leading supplier, surpassing Algeria by more than 1,200 GWh in August. Nevertheless, Algeria’s position has strengthened over the January-August period compared with the same period in 2025: its supplies increased by 4.1%, while those from the United States fell by 8.9%, against a backdrop in which Spain’s total gas imports declined by 1.5%. Algeria’s growth has been driven primarily by pipeline gas. Deliveries through the Medgaz pipeline increased by 12.2% year-on-year up to August, offsetting an almost 49% fall in Algerian LNG imports. Mauritania resumed gas deliveries to Spain this month, albeit still at modest levels, reflecting slow progress in LNG exports from the Grand Tortue Ahmeyim field shared with Senegal.

The United States has indeed reclaimed first place as Spain’s monthly supplier, accounting for 38.9% of imports compared with Algeria’s 34.7%. This highlights the LNG market’s ability to rapidly alter the monthly composition of supply. However, Algeria remains Spain’s largest source of imported gas on a cumulative basis in 2026, supported by monthly peaks of up to 43%, such as that recorded in May. Between January and August, Algeria provided 34.8% of Spain’s gas supplies, compared with 28.7% from the United States.

The figures continue to highlight two defining characteristics of the Spanish gas market: a relatively diversified supply base, with as many as 14 countries supplying gas to the system in 2026, although the top three suppliers accounted for 80% of supply in August (and up to 86% in January and March); and a still significant dependence on Algeria, which provides more than one-third of Spain’s gas and whose supply is largely linked to dedicated physical infrastructure. This has enabled Algerian deliveries to maintain year-on-year growth rates close to zero (+2% in August). The recent revival of Spanish-Algerian energy cooperation is likely to reinforce this position further. In July, the two governments politically agreed to increase imports, although the commercial terms and additional volumes remain to be finalised.

Morocco consolidates its position as the main destination for Spanish gas exports

For the second consecutive month in July, and for the sixth time in the last twelve months, Morocco remained the leading destination for gas exports from Spain, receiving 992 GWh, well ahead of the next-largest buyer, Italy (160 GWh). The increase in flows during the summer is primarily linked to higher electricity demand and the use of combined-cycle gas plants for power generation, making exports to Morocco highly sensitive to seasonal demand patterns.

Following a significant 15.6% increase since June, Morocco accounted for almost half of Spain’s gas exports in July (47.5% of the total, compared with 40.5% a year earlier). However, when measured over the last twelve months, its average share stands at 26%, only one percentage point higher than France’s 25%.

The volume exported was exactly the same as in July 2025, maintaining a remarkable degree of stability, with annual fluctuations never exceeding ±50%. However, its relative importance increased due to the sharp decline in Spanish exports to other markets, particularly Portugal, where exports fell by 87.9% year-on-year.This trend further underlines the essential role of Spain’s gas system in meeting Moroccan demand. Morocco purchases LNG on international markets, regasifies it entirely at Spanish terminals, and then transports it to its territory through the Maghreb-Europe Gas Pipeline (GME). This relationship could become even more important as Morocco expands its gas-fired electricity generation capacity, although the development of domestic renewable energy production and new infrastructure projects, such as the LNG regasification plant announced and later suspended at the new port of Nador, may gradually reduce this dependence over time.

Algeria regains ground in crude oil while Libya shows greater volatility

Spain imported 5.28 million tonnes of crude oil in July, 9.5% less than a year earlier, in a market characterised by a high degree of supplier diversification, with at least nine suppliers needed to account for more than 75% of imports. Among OPEC suppliers, Algeria stood out by increasing its shipments by 155% from June to 486,000 tonnes, becoming Spain’s fifth-largest supplier and raising its share to 9.2% of total monthly imports. Nevertheless, cumulative deliveries between January and July were still down 6.7%, to 2.01 million tonnes. July’s rebound suggests a recovery in Algeria’s presence in the Spanish market, although it is still too early to describe this as a structural change in either its average monthly volume (300,000 tonnes) or its average market share (6%) over the last twelve months.

Libya presents a different picture. Its exports to Spain increased by 20% during the first seven months of the year, reaching 3.56 million tonnes and making it the second most important African supplier during the period. It accounted for 10.3% of Spain’s crude oil imports and recorded notable peaks, such as in March, when it became Spain’s largest supplier. However, Libyan shipments collapsed by 70.2% in July to just 164,000 tonnes, illustrating the greater vulnerability of Libyan supplies to disruptions related to the security environment and the operation of oilfields, pipelines and export terminals. This is likely to be reflected in September’s data as well, following the shutdown of the Sharara-Zawiya pipeline.

Morocco strengthens its dependence on Spanish electricity

Despite a slight decline in August, Morocco continues to set records for electricity imports from Spain. As early as July, Spanish electricity exports to Morocco exceeded 500 GWh, the highest monthly volume since August 2017. The increase during the summer is consistent with higher electricity demand and greater generation requirements during the warmer months. However, the relationship remains highly asymmetric. Morocco imported 504.147 GWh from Spain while exporting only 2.029 GWh in return, once again demonstrating its strong dependence on Spain to meet domestic demand and maintain system balance. This contrasts with Morocco’s ambition to become a regional hub for renewable electricity exports. For the time being, the figures suggest that generation capacity is not yet sufficiently efficient, nor is the necessary export infrastructure fully in place.

Energy News

• 2 September 2026 - US-based Expro launched a US$380 million contract in Algeria to provide hydrocarbon sector services over the next four years. The agreement reinforces the presence of international companies in Algeria’s upstream oil and gas operations. [Expro]
• 22 September 2026 - Around ten German companies expressed interest in participating in the SouthH2 Corridor, the planned hydrogen corridor linking Algeria and Tunisia with European markets. This interest strengthens the prospects of connecting Algerian energy production with German and wider European industrial demand.[APS]
• 26 September 2026 - Morocco and the United Arab Emirates explored new avenues for cooperation in renewable energy and industrial development. Discussions held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly focused on promoting investment and joint projects linked to the energy transition. [Hespress]
• 27 September 2026 - The disruption of the pipeline connecting the Sharara field to Zawiya is estimated to have cost Libya approximately US$95 million in losses over five days. Crude flows resumed after several days of interruption caused by the unauthorised closure of valves amid disputes involving the Petroleum Facilities Guard regarding administrative oversight and labour-related demands. The blockage also led to the temporary shutdown of the Zawiya refinery. The restoration of operations allows supplies to resume from one of Libya’s largest oilfields, operated by Spain’s Repsol as part of the Akakus Oil Operations consortium.
• 27 September 2026 - Algeria and OPEC reaffirmed their coordination in preserving oil market stability, marking ten years since the agreement that strengthened cooperation among producers. The understanding underlines Algeria’s continuing role within the group’s collective strategy.[APS]
• 29 September 2026 - Nigeria revived its proposal to build a gas pipeline through Libya to Europe as an alternative route for exporting Nigerian gas. Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ekperikpe Ekpo, reiterated support for the project, which would require crossing Libya and Niger, or potentially Chad, before connecting to existing infrastructure serving European markets. The proposal joins competing projects promoted by both Morocco and Algeria.[LibyaObserver]