Morocco has overtaken France to become the largest consumer of Spanish gas in 2024, according to data from the Spanish Strategic Reserves Corporation for Petroleum Products (Cores). The report shows that Morocco imported 9,703 gigawatt hours of natural gas through the Maghreb-Europe Gas Pipeline, surpassing France (9,362 GWh) and Portugal (4,056 GWh). This marks a significant shift, as France and Portugal have historically been among the top consumers of Spanish gas. While Spain is not a major gas producer, it boasts an advanced infrastructure with two pipelines (Medgaz and the Maghreb-Europe) and six regasification plants, along with extensive underground storage facilities. This allows Spain to serve as a key transit hub for importing and exporting natural gas and liquefied natural gas. In total, Spain exported 36,084 GWh of gas last year, with Morocco accounting for 26.8% of these exports. France and Portugal followed closely, while Italy (1,831 GWh), Turkey (1,055 GWh), China (902 GWh), and Puerto Rico (883 GWh) ranked further down the list. Spain remains one of the largest gas importers, relying primarily on Algeria, Russia, and the United States. According to Cores, Algeria was Spain's top supplier, providing 131,202 GWh, followed by Russia (72,360 GWh) and the U.S. (57,354 GWh). This development comes amid ongoing tensions between Spain and Algeria, which escalated in 2022 after Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez recognized Morocco's sovereignty over the Sahara. In response, Algeria threatened to cut gas supplies if any of its exports were redirected to Morocco.
