ALGIERS — Algeria's
state-owned energy giant Sonatrach warned Friday it could increase the price of
its gas sales to Spain, against the backdrop of a diplomatic row with
Madrid over the disputed Western Sahara.
اضافة اعلان
"Since the start of the Ukraine crisis,
gas and oil prices have skyrocketed. Algeria has decided to stick, for all its
customers, to relatively fair contract prices," Sonatrach CEO Toufik
Hakkar told the national news agency APS.
"But a 'recalculation' of prices for
our Spanish customer is not ruled out," he said.
Algiers last month recalled its ambassador
from Madrid in protest at a decision by Spain, which is heavily dependent on
Algeria for its gas supplies, to back a Moroccan autonomy plan for the
ex-Spanish colony of Western Sahara.
Algeria has condemned the "abrupt
about-turn" by Madrid, which had previously sought to maintain neutrality
in the decades-old conflict over the territory disputed by Morocco and the
Algiers-backed Polisario Front independence movement.
Questioned on Europe's hunt for alternative
energy suppliers in place of Russia, heavily sanctioned over its invasion of
Ukraine, Hakkar said that Sonatrach could not at present substitute Russian
gas.
But "with the pace of our exploration,
our capacity will double in four years, which could open promising prospects
with our European clients," the Sonatrach chief said.
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