Europe gets most of its gas from three main routes, which is at the center of many political issues right now. At the same time, the old continent is dealing with high gas prices and a lack of supplies before winter arrives.
The 31st of October is a very important day. An agreement that let natural gas flow from Algeria to Morocco and then to Spain through the Maghreb-Europe pipeline, or GME, stops on this date. The agreement lasted for 25 years. But because of recent political tensions between Algeria and Morocco, quest’last said it would not extend the contract. As a result, gas will no longer be pumped through this pipeline.
According to Standard & Poor’s Global Platts, this line can carry up to 12 billion cubic meters of gas. It sent 3.7 billion cubic meters to Spain last year and about 500 million cubic meters to Morocco. As a result, this line meets half of Morocco’s gas needs in exchange for letting gas pass through its territory.
But there is another line, Medgaz, that goes straight from Algeria to Spain without going through Morocco. This line moved 5.4 billion cubic meters in Spain last year, even though it can hold up to 8 billion cubic meters. It is currently undergoing an increase that will raise its capacity to 10.5 billion cubic meters, which should be finished next month.
In other words, this line almost covers the whole amount that is sent from Algeria to Spain.
The Nord Stream-2, which goes straight from Russia to Germany through the Baltic Sea, is right across the water. It has strong resistance from the US, as well as from Ukraine and Poland, which are where the pipelines that bring Russian gas to Europe currently go.
The Nord Stream-2 line is now finished, and technical checks using atmospheric pressure have started to make sure there are no leaks. These checks should be finished by the end of the year, at which point the company will get a license to operate from the German government. People think that the European Parliament and the German Parliament might be against it.
The South Caucasus Pipeline, which started running at the end of last year, takes gas from Azerbaijan to Greece, the Balkan countries, and Italy through Georgia and Turkey. It is in the southern part of Europe.
There are strategic risks to this line because of the rising tensions between Iran and Azerbaijan. On both sides of the border, the two countries are holding military drills, which is making things worse. The first problem with the pipeline was the 40-day war in Karabakh last year between Azerbaijan and Armenia. This is the second problem.
People in Europe are worried that the gas shortage will get worse in the next few months, especially if winter is colder than normal.