Sonatrach CEO Toufik Hakkar said on Sunday that the country is prepared to deliver additional gas to Europe in the event of a probable reduction due to the Ukraine crisis.
He stated that Sonatrach was ready to send more gas to the EU via the Transmed pipeline, which connects Algeria and Italy.
Hakkar said that Sonatrach is “a trustworthy gas provider for the European market” and that the company is “ready to support its long-term partners in challenging conditions.”
However, he stated that this would be subject to the availability of a gas surplus or liquefied natural gas when national demand and “commercial obligations” are met.
The Sonatrach CEO also said that the company can expand its supply to countries not served by existing pipelines by using LNG tankers.
He said Europe was the “natural market of choice” for Algerian gas, which accounts for about %11 of Europe’s gas imports.
The fact that natural gas can be transported from Algeria, which has 2.3 trillion cubic meters of proven natural gas reserves, to Europe with the help of undersea pipelines is advantageous compared to relatively expensive options such as spot LNG.
Algeria exports LNG to Italy, Portugal, and Spain via pipelines, and to Turkey and Greece in small quantities.
Despite this, Algeria’s lack of infrastructure to carry gas on a large scale for the EU, which is dependent on imports, which consumes around 500 billion cubic meters of gas annually, requires the country to undertake new infrastructure works.
