Algeria Says It Respects All Gas Commitments With Spain

(Bloomberg) —

Algeria said information technology would respect all its gas commitments with Espana, days subsequently its freezing of a 2-decade-old treaty raised questions over energy supplies for the European nation.

The North African country as well called on Castilian companies to fulfill their contractual obligations, according to a Foreign Ministry statement.

Algeria on Wed said it was suspending its freedom and cooperation pact with Spain over the European country’southward opinion on Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony in Africa over which Morocco claims sovereignty. Algerian banks were subsequently ordered to stop payments between People's democratic republic of algeria and Spain.

The steps escalated a diplomatic crunch that began earlier this year when Madrid reversed its longstanding policy of neutrality and backed Kingdom of morocco’due south plan for express autonomy for Western Sahara, which has mostly been under Rabat’due south control since Spain left in the 1970s.

That helped stop a Castilian-Morocco spat, only in turn angered Algeria, which backs a movement seeking independence for the disputed territory.

Espana imports substantial amounts of natural gas from Algeria and later on Wednesday’southward announcement it wasn’t immediately clear if those flows would exist affected.

Espana’s Naturgy Energy Group SA on Thursday said it was “business as usual” with Sonatrach Grouping, Algeria’s state free energy firm.