Sonatrach CEO Toufik Hakkar assures Algeria has taken precautions in the event that the contract to deliver gas via Morocco is not renewed. Toufik Hakkar recalled that the supply of Algerian gas to Spain was subject to contracts, some of which expire next October.
These deadlines coincide with the end of the contract between Algeria and Morocco on the pipeline that crosses the Kingdom of the Shereefian kingdom and connects Spain. Toufik Hakkar assured that Algeria had made arrangements in the event of non-renewal of the contract with Morocco, even if Spanish demand increased.
The CEO of Sonatrach, who does not give any indication on the progress of the negotiations with Morocco, asserts in half words that Algeria will not submit to any blackmail on the part of the Moroccan authorities. These statements coincide with a period of great tension between Algeria and Morocco. The two countries are in fact engaged in a diplomatic and media war against the backdrop of the conflict in Western Sahara.
Speculations on the end of negotiations
It should be noted that, for the past few weeks, information has been circulating about the end of negotiations on the renewal of the contract for the delivery of gas to Spain through Morocco. The Spanish newspaper El Mundo had announced that Mohammed VI had ordered to end negotiations on the renewal of the said contract.
Other sources say negotiations are still ongoing. This is the case of a Moroccan newspaper, which claims to have its information from official sources, according to which “what has been written in the press for a few weeks is not true. The discussions around the renewal of the contract continue and continue in a normal way. Negotiations focus in particular on the technical and commercial aspect of the contract. We cannot, underlines the same source, stop a contract of this kind overnight.” The Moroccans observe that “the economic interests go beyond the transient conflicts that there may be between the different parties”.
