Morocco becomes second largest market for gas re-exports from Spain

Morocco has become a major destination for gas re-exports from Spain, second only to France, thanks to Madrid’s reopening of the Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline two years ago, regional media report.

The Maghreb- Europe pipeline connects the Hassi R’Mel gas field in Algeria, through Morocco to Cordoba in southern Spain. It originally carried Algerian gas to Morocco, Spain and Portugal, but was unilaterally shut by Algeria in October 2021 after it broke diplomatic relations with Morocco. 

In January this year, Morocco was briefly the top recipient of gas from Spain, with a 28% share of Spain’s monthly exports, according to the Spanish news agency EFE.

In the first half of 2024, Morocco accounted for 16.5% of Spain’s gas re-exports, up from 12.5% over the whole of 2023, and approximately 5% it registered in the second half of 2022 when the pipeline was reactivated, and its flow reversed.

Morocco is not buying gas directly from Spain. Instead, Morocco purchases shipments of liquefied natural gas which are received by Spain and processed at its regasification plants before being piped to Morocco. All gas re-exported from Spain to Morocco has to be certified not to contain any Algerian gas, to comply with Algerian government restrictions.