Outlook Report: Algeria

The North African country’s strategic position is changing, especially regarding its natural gas industry.

Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni and Algerian president Abdelmajid Tebboune at their meeting this January in Algiers.

Italy is vying to become the natural gas hub of Europe, taking in pipelines and tankers at the centre of the Mediterranean. This may be just what Algeria needs as relations with Spain sour; simultaneously, Russia is ceasing to be Europe’s leading energy provider.

After war in Ukraine and worsening relations with Spain, Algeria’s energy industry may be in a similar or even better strategic position. If infrastructure projects are completed, exports may be able to reach Central and Eastern Europe via Italy and take over the market once dominated by Russia.

Sanctions on the Russian economy are taking out the largest sole provider of natural gas into Europe. Across just 170 miles of sea, Algeria is well-placed to step in. Even if the Eastern Mediterranean soil and Libya have a great potential for fossil fuel production, they are torn by a conflict.