Algeria is the sixth-largest gas exporter in the world, with more than 90% of its pipeline exports going to Spain (34%), Italy (27%), and other European countries. It is also the third-largest source of gas imports to the EU, accounting for 14% of gas imports and 10% of total consumption. Three pipelines currently link Algeria to Europe, and a fourth is being developed with Italy (1)   With reserves of 4.5 trillion cubic meters of gas, Algeria is the eleventh-largest natural gas reserves in the world and the second-largest reserves in Africa, behind Nigeria. The country is also estimated to hold the third largest amount of shale gas resources in the world (1).        An EU-Algeria Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation on oil and gas was signed in July 2013 between the European Commission’s President José Manuel Barroso and Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal. Barroso stated that “Energy is a priority area of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership... Algeria is a key partner for the EU. Natural gas is a strategic issue for both parties: Algeria is a major supplier to Europe, while Europe is by far the largest customer of Algeria.” (2)                         By pushing for long-term exports of gas in a context where the Algerian public is excluded from decision-making and benefits are largely reserved for the regime’s elite, the EU is pursuing a “gas grab.”

In 2012, Algeria was the world’s seventh-largest exporter of LNG, exporting about 5% of the world’s total. France was the single largest destination (34%), followed by Turkey (23%), Spain (23 %), Italy (9%), and Greece (6%).