By: OrePulse

The Czech Republic, France and Germany have each sought additional natural gas supplies from Algeria, according to government statements and energy market data reported on October 28, as Algeria's role in European gas supply continues to grow.

The Czech government said it received a preliminary commitment from Algerian officials to double the volume of gas that Czech utility ČEZ buys from Algerian state energy company Sonatrach, raising it from 200 million to 400 million cubic meters a year under their existing 2024 supply contract. The commitment followed a two-day visit to Algeria by the Czech prime minister and industry minister. No timeline or commercial terms for the increase have been announced.

France has asked Algeria to increase shipments of liquefied natural gas and oil as soon as possible, according to unnamed sources cited in the reporting, as Paris seeks additional supply amid energy market disruptions. Algeria was France's second-largest LNG supplier in the third quarter of 2026, with deliveries of 0.39 million tonnes, down about 25% from the same period a year earlier, according to energy market data cited in the reporting. Sonatrach's existing supply commitments to other buyers could limit how quickly it is able to add volume for France, the data showed.

In Germany, Sonatrach and German gas importer VNG agreed to raise Algerian gas supplies to Germany starting January 1, 2027. Germany has sought Algerian gas to help fill its underground storage facilities, and the first cargo of Algerian liquefied natural gas delivered to Germany arrived via the Wilhelmshaven 1 floating storage and regasification unit.

Algeria has supplied between 13% and 14% of the European Union's combined pipeline and LNG gas imports over the past four years, according to the reporting. European buyers have been restructuring their supplier base since the war in Ukraine disrupted established supply routes.

Neither Sonatrach nor the Algerian government has issued a public statement specifying the volumes sought by each of the three European countries beyond the agreements already confirmed with ČEZ and VNG.