The European Union (EU) was responsible for importing about 95 per cent of Algeria’s LNG in 2025, consolidating what is presented as a strategic energy partnership, yet one that reveals asymmetric interdependence and structural vulnerability.
The expected visit to Algiers by European Commissioner for Energy, Dan Jørgensen, comes amid a rapid reshaping of gas flows toward Europe.
Brussels aims to eliminate Russian imports by the end of 2027 and is seeking to strengthen ties with suppliers considered reliable, with Algeria ranking prominently among them.
According to the Italian news agency Nova, Europe accounted for nearly 95 per cent of Algeria’s total liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports in 2025, underscoring the depth of the energy link between the two shores of the Mediterranean.
Talks with Algeria’s Minister of Energy and Mines, Mohamed Arkab, are expected to focus on supply security, regulatory exemptions granted to Algerian LNG, and prospects for cooperation in green hydrogen and
renewable energy.
Brussels has exempted Algerian LNG from a newly introduced enhanced origin-declaration mechanism applied to other suppliers, reaffirming Algiers’ status as a priority partner.
The figures point to a firmly established relationship. In 2025, Turkey imported 3.14 million tonnes of Algerian LNG, followed by France (2.31 million tonnes), Italy (1.62 million), Spain (1.44 million) and the United Kingdom (0.64 million).
Algeria also overtook the United States as Spain’s leading LNG supplier. Via pipeline deliveries, Italy imported nearly 20.1 billion cubic meters through the Transmed pipeline, accounting for around 31 per cent of its total gas imports, despite a slight decline compared with 2024.
Behind the rhetoric of a “reliable supplier,” however, lies a reciprocal dependence that raises questions about Algeria’s long-term energy strategy. While Europe diversifies its sources, Algeria channels the bulk of its exports toward a single market, at a time when the EU is accelerating its shift toward renewables and globally traded spot LNG. Europe’s record LNG imports of 103.44 million tonnes in 2025, up 24 per cent year-on-year, reflect intensifying competition among suppliers.
This configuration exposes Algiers to structural pressure on prices and volumes over the medium term. The current centrality of Algerian gas rests as much on geopolitical circumstances as on the ability to maintain stable flows. Yet investment in upstream gas production, infrastructure modernization and domestic energy diversification remains critical to preventing gas revenues from entrenching prolonged fiscal dependence.
Energy cooperation with the European Union offers Algeria a strategic window of opportunity. It will require, however,, a coherent industrial vision and a managed transition to ensure that its status as a key partner does not mask structural fragility in the face of rapidly evolving global energy markets.
MK/AK/Sf/lb/gik/APA