EU Energy Chief Praises Algeria ‘Partnership'

European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson speaks during the Energy Business Forum, in Algiers, Algeria, 11 October 2022. (EPA)
European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson speaks during the Energy Business Forum, in Algiers, Algeria, 11 October 2022. (EPA)
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EU Energy Chief Praises Algeria ‘Partnership'

European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson speaks during the Energy Business Forum, in Algiers, Algeria, 11 October 2022. (EPA)
European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson speaks during the Energy Business Forum, in Algiers, Algeria, 11 October 2022. (EPA)

The European Union's energy commissioner hailed a "long-term strategic partnership" with Algeria Tuesday as the bloc turns to Africa's biggest gas exporter to fill a gap left by Russian supplies.

"As the relationship with Russia, so far EU's biggest gas supplier, is irreversibly broken, we are turning to the EU's reliable suppliers to fill in the gap," said Kadri Simson.

"In this respect we are offering Algeria a long-term strategic partnership."

Simson is the latest in a string of top European officials to visit Algeria in search of more natural gas, since Russia cut gas supplies to Europe in suspected retaliation against Western sanctions after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

Algeria has helped Europe diversify its energy supplies by pumping more gas to Italy, which in July signed a deal to import billions more cubic meters via an undersea pipeline from the North African coast.

Europe's hunt for gas has become ever more urgent as winter approaches, but experts have cast doubt over Algeria's ability to boost output in the short term.

Algerian Prime Minister Aimene Benabderrahmane however said state hydrocarbons firm Sonatrach had put in place an "accelerated program" to bump up output.

Energy Minister Mohamed Arkab, speaking at an energy summit in the capital Algiers attended by Simson, said his country was "a trusted supplier" that always honors its contractual obligations.

He added that Algeria was examining the possibility of laying high-voltage cables under the Mediterranean to export electricity to Europe, and that the country hopes to produce as much as 50 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2035.

Simson said she wanted the EU to help Algeria reduce its methane emissions and boost its electricity output from renewables.

"Algeria has one of the highest solar based energy potential in the world," she said in a tweet. "The EU is ready to help Algeria unlock this potential."



Oil Dips as Economic Concerns, Supply and Demand Expectations Weigh

A pumpjack brings oil to the surface in the Monterey Shale, California, US April 29, 2013. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo
A pumpjack brings oil to the surface in the Monterey Shale, California, US April 29, 2013. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo
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Oil Dips as Economic Concerns, Supply and Demand Expectations Weigh

A pumpjack brings oil to the surface in the Monterey Shale, California, US April 29, 2013. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo
A pumpjack brings oil to the surface in the Monterey Shale, California, US April 29, 2013. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo

Oil prices slipped on Thursday after surging in the previous session on a larger-than-expected draw in US gasoline stocks, as markets weighed macroeconomic concerns and demand versus supply expectations. Brent futures were down 30 cents to $70.65 a barrel at 1140 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 31 cents to $67.37 a barrel.

Both benchmarks rallied about 2% on Wednesday after US government data showed tighter-than-expected oil and fuel inventories.

US gasoline inventories fell by 5.7 million barrels, more than the 1.9 million-barrel draw expected by analysts, while distillate stocks also dropped more than anticipated, despite gains in crude stocks, Reuters reported.

"Declining US gasoline inventories raised expectations for a seasonal demand increase in spring, but concerns about the global economic impact of tariff wars weighed on the market," said Hiroyuki Kikukawa, chief strategist at Nissan Securities Investment.

"With strong and weak factors progressing simultaneously, it has become difficult for the market to lean decisively in one direction or the other," he added. US President Donald Trump threatened on Wednesday to escalate a global trade war with further tariffs on European Union goods, as major US trading partners said they would retaliate for trade barriers already erected by the US president.

Trump's focus on tariffs has rattled investors, consumers and business confidence, and raised US recession fears. With the US president's stated commitment to cheaper oil, Citi analysts said their outlook for Brent by the second half of 2025 is $60 a barrel.

Global oil supply could

exceed demand

by around 600,000 barrels per day this year, the International Energy Agency said on Thursday, revising down its 2025 demand growth forecast. Meanwhile, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said on Wednesday that Kazakhstan led a sizeable jump in February crude output by the wider OPEC+, highlighting a challenge for the producer group in enforcing adherence to agreed output targets, even as it intends to unwind production cuts.

Worries about flagging jet fuel demand weighed further on markets, with JP Morgan analysts saying that US Transportation Security Administration data showed "passenger volumes for March have decreased by 5% year-over-year, following stagnant traffic in February".

However, recent firm global demand numbers limited overall market weakness.

"As of March 11, global oil demand averaged 102.2 million barrels per day, expanding 1.7 million barrels per day year-over-year and exceeding our projected increase for the month by 60,000 barrels per day," the JP Morgan analysts added.