Algeria restores friendship treaty with Spain, boosts gas supplies

Algeria has reinstated its Treaty of Friendship, Good Neighbourliness and Cooperation with Spain, ending a suspension that lasted nearly four years, as both sides seek to strengthen bilateral relations, according to a statement from the Algerian presidency. 

President Abdelmadjid Tebboune received Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares during an official visit on March 27. The meeting provided an opportunity to review the state of Algerian-Spanish relations and the promising prospects ahead.

Algeria suspended the treaty in June 2022 when Spain abandoned its decades-long policy of neutrality to officially support Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara, a move Algeria condemned as a betrayal of the Sahrawi people's right to self-determination. During Albares’ visit, the two sides agreed to increase Algerian gas supplies to Spain by around 12% to mitigate the impact of ongoing tensions in the Middle East on energy markets.

Spanish outlet The Objective reported that Algeria would raise daily gas flows through the Medgaz pipeline to about 32mn cubic metres, up from 28mn cubic metres earlier this year, bringing volumes close to the pipeline’s maximum capacity. 

The increase is seen as part of broader efforts to deepen energy cooperation, with discussions also covering infrastructure, joint analysis, and potential new investments. The dialogue on gas extends beyond supply, driven by a wider push to rebuild strategic ties and expand cooperation across multiple sectors. Bilateral trade has reached €8.5bn in 2025, driven by a 10% increase in Algerian gas supplies and a tripling of Spanish exports in the last year following the lifting of trade restrictions. 

Spain is exploring increased imports via the Medgaz pipeline, jointly operated by the Algerian state oil firm Sonatrach, Naturgy (BME: NTGY), and BlackRock (NYSE: BLK).

The Middle East conflict has disrupted liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies, particularly from Qatar. Qatar’s gas sector was severely impacted after retaliatory Iranian missile strikes targeted the Ras Laffan Industrial City, causing extensive damage to liquefaction trains and knocking out roughly 17% of the nation’s total export capacity.

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran effectively stranded all Qatari LNG shipments, forcing QatarEnergy to declare force majeure as 20% of the global gas supply was removed from the market. Repairing Qatar’s damaged facilities could take years, forcing European countries to seek alternative sources. Average flows from Algeria via TransMed have recently been 20bn cubic metres annually, slightly below 2022–2023 levels, but still insufficient to offset LNG shortfalls.