The breakdown at the Algerian factory Beni Saif causes an already recovered supply decline, but that shows Spain’s energy fragility in a general context of fear in Europe
A technical “glitch” at the worst possible time. This is what happened this Sunday morning in the gas link between Algeria and Spain, a problem that has led to “the temporary shutdown” of the gas pipeline connecting that country to Almeria via the Mediterranean Sea. The outage lasted for two hours on the Algerian side and has since been repaired.
Sources from Enagás – the company responsible for managing Spain’s gas system – claim that “the supply has not been interrupted at any time”. They also confirm it from the government. However, this unexpected cut has set off all the alarms at a delicate moment such as that in the energy sector. While the European Union is asking Spain for “solidarity” with other partners by reducing its gas consumption for this winter and being able to bring it to other countries, the government has rejected this possibility, stating that Spain “is fulfilling its obligations in terms of energy has fulfilled”.
According to the information received from Medgaz, the problem was due to “some routine maintenance work on the Beni Saaf compressor station”, when there was a temporary shutdown of flows departing from the factory in Algeria to the international connection from Almeria. .
This unforeseen circumstance has led to a decrease, not an end, of flows entering Spain through the said international link. “The minimum flow rate is 704,000 cubic meters per minute (Nm3/min), about 200,000 less than normal.” Enagás emphasizes that in Spain’s gas system, “there has been no impact on security of supply, that there has been no technical reason that has caused this situation, and that no action is required to resolve it.”
The surprise cut has not gone further this time and has not had any impact on supply. But episodes like this were the first to involve Russia since late last summer, along with the rest of Europe, using technical issues and other contingencies to cut supply. In the case of Algeria, it remains the key to Spanish gas consumption: until June, it supplied almost a fifth of the gas that reached the peninsula via the Mezgaz.
It is practically half of what it contributed to 2021 thanks to that infrastructure and the gas pipeline that brought gas through Morocco and the Strait of Gibraltar, an option that was cut off from Algiers because of the diplomatic crisis they have with Rabat. In the Spanish case, Moncloa’s new position regarding the autonomy of Western Sahara, aligned with Morocco, has sparked anger in Algeria, although there had been no incident to date with the supply of gas with Spain.
The Mezgaz gas pipeline, which connects Algeria with the coast of Almeria, has a capacity of more than 10,000 million cubic meters per year. Morocco’s, which also controls Algeria, nearly another 10,000. They were the main gas injection for Spain until the end of last year. With the Moroccan cut, the system has made use of the six regasification plants that Spain has in different ports to supply itself. In these months, since the war in Ukraine began, the United States has become Spain’s main gas supplier.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
