Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on Sunday ordered state energy firm Sonatrach to halt gas exports to Spain through a pipeline that traverses Morocco due to tensions with Rabat. Algeria, Africa's biggest natural gas exporter, has been using the Gaz-Maghreb-Europe (GME) pipeline since 1996 to deliver several billion cubic metres (bcm) per year to Spain and Portugal. But the GME contract is due to expire at midnight Sunday, just over two months after Algiers severed diplomatic ties with Rabat over "hostile actions" -- accusations Morocco has dismissed. Tebboune "ordered the cessation of trade ties between Sonatrach and the Moroccan National Office for Electricity and Potable Water (ONEE), and the non-renewal of the contract, which expires at midnight Sunday," a statement from the presidency said.
The move would not have a significant impact, ONEE said in a statement on Sunday night. "In anticipation of this decision, the necessary measures have been taken to ensure the continuity of the country's electricity supply," it said. Tebboune took the decision after consultations with the prime minister and the ministers of energy and foreign affairs "in light of the hostile behaviour of the (Moroccan) kingdom which undermines national unity", it said.