Middle East and Africa | Gas fires in the Sahara

Algeria’s ailing rulers stir tension with Morocco

They may hope that a crisis with the neighbours will distract from problems at home

Wending their wiggly way to Europe
|DUBAI

THESE SHOULD be heady times for the world’s tenth-largest producer of natural gas. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sent European governments scrambling for new supplies. Algeria sends more than 80% of its gas exports to Europe. Most is piped to Spain and Italy (see map). As the continent’s third-biggest supplier, it should be investing in new capacity to produce and transport more of the stuff. Instead it is threatening to send less.

This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “The danger of lighting a gas fire”

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