By:naturalgasworld

Algeria has managed to defy forecasts that a combination of lacklustre production growth and rising domestic demand would squeeze export volumes. As a result, it has proved a reliable supplier of gas since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, both to Italy and Spain by pipeline, and to the EU more generally through LNG exports. Algerian LNG exports reached 19bn m3 last year, still below export capacity, but 3.4bn m3 higher than in 2021 and the highest level in more than a decade. The resurgence in Algerian gas output was not, however, a response to the war in Ukraine. Production hit a record 101.1bn m3 in 2021, jumping almost 25% from 2020, according to Energy Institute data. It dipped in 2022 and then set another record of 101.5bn m3 in 2023. Exports followed suit and stood at 53.5bn m3 last year with a marked jump in LNG volumes of 4.6bn m3.