Algerian Sonatrach confirms first gas deliveries to the Czech Republic

Algerian state-owned company Sonatrach confirmed on Sunday its first gas deliveries to the Czech Republic. In a press release it announced that deliveries began on 1 October. The contract is the result of two years of negotiations with Czech company ČEZ. The Czech state-controlled group announced the agreement last week.

“Sonatrach began its first deliveries of natural gas to Czech company ČEZ on 1 October,” the Algerian firm said.

“This gas, intended for delivery to the Czech Republic, is transported through a pipeline connecting Algeria with Italy,” Sonatrach added. According to the company, the contract with the Czech Republic will strengthen its “position as a long-term, reliable supplier of natural gas on the European market.”

Sonatrach views the current agreement as the first step in a long-term relationship with ČEZ. Algeria is one of the leading natural gas producers in North Africa. Italy, for example, increased its gas purchases from the country after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

ČEZ said it would take around two per cent of the Czech Republic’s annual gas consumption from Algeria. The Czech Republic has also reduced its gas imports from Russia since the start of the war in Ukraine.

ČEZ currently sources gas from several foreign suppliers. Two years ago, the Czech Republic secured capacity of three billion cubic metres of gas per year at a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Eemshaven. In its first two years of operation, the terminal received 43 vessels carrying gas for the Czech Republic, which delivered 3.86 billion cubic metres of gas. At the end of last year, ČEZ secured additional LNG capacity of two billion cubic metres per year for 15 years, with an option to extend the agreement to 25 years, at the newly built onshore terminal in Stade, Germany, at the mouth of the Elbe. Construction of the terminal began this spring, and it is scheduled to enter service in the second half of 2027.