Spain is walking a diplomatic tightrope between its two southern neighbors Morocco and Algeria as Rabat pushes ahead with plans to import natural gas via Spanish LNG import infrastructure and Algiers seeks to ensure none of its piped gas exports to the Iberian Peninsula end up in Morocco.

Worsening relations between Algiers and Rabat over the past year culminated in the shutdown of the 11.5bcm/y Algeria-Morocco-Spain Gaz Maghreb Europe (GME) natural gas pipeline in November on the expiry of the contract which had regulated flows for the past 25 years (MEES, 5 November 2021). (CONTINUED - 752 WORDS)