Spain presses Algeria to guarantee natural gas supply

By JOSEPH WILSON
Associated Press

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Spain has sent another minister to Algeria to seek guarantees that its supply of natural gas won’t be impacted when Algeria closes its pipeline through Morocco on Sunday. Algeria provides over a third of Spain’s natural gas. Spanish officials worry that a shortage in supplies will further boost already skyrocketing energy prices. Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Teresa Ribera said Wednesday that she has secured a renewed pledge by Algeria that its commitments to supply natural gas will be met via a second pipeline that crosses the Mediterranean directly. Algeria won’t renew a 25-year-deal that has kept gas flowing through Morocco to Spain when it expires on Oct. 31. That is because Algerian and Morocco are in a diplomatic spat over Western Sahara.