The Maghreb–Europe Gas Pipeline (MEG; also known as the Pere Duran Farell pipeline or Gazoduc Maghreb Europe GME) is a

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...

pipeline, which links the

Hassi R'Mel gas field The Hassi R'Mel Gas Field is the largest gas field in Algeria and one of the largest gas fields in the world. It is located in the vicinity of Hassi R'Mel village, south of Algiers. The gas field extends from north to south and from east to wes ...

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

through

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

with Cordoba in

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, where it is connected with the Spanish and

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

gas grids. Before the operation of the pipeline ceased in October 2021, it used to supply mainly Spain and Portugal, as well as Morocco with natural gas.

History

The Maghreb–Europe Gas Pipeline was first proposed in 1963 by French companies. This proposal foresaw prolongation of the pipeline to

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

in France. However, because of the

Western Sahara Western Sahara ( '; ; ) is a disputed territory on the northwest coast and in the Maghreb region of North and West Africa. About 20% of the territory is controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), while the r ...

dispute, any route from Algeria through Morocco to Spain was prevented. Also natural gas consumption in Spain was too low to justify the pipeline construction. The project started in early 1990s. In 1992, ministers of Spain and Algeria agreed to start the construction of the pipeline. At the same time

Sonatrach Sonatrach ( ar, سوناطراك; french: Société Nationale pour la Recherche, la Production, le Transport, la Transformation, et la Commercialisation des Hydrocarbures) is the national state-owned oil company of Algeria. Founded in 1963, it is ...

and

Enagás Enagás, S.A. (, originally an initialism for ) is a Spanish energy company and European transmission system operator (TSO), which owns and operates the nation's gas grid. The firm also owns four liquefied natural gas regasification terminals ...

signed a long-term supply agreement. It followed by signing the Moroccan Convention establishing the procedures for the construction, operation and use of the pipeline. At the same year, the project company Europe - Maghreb Pipeline Ltd. was established. In 1994, Transgas of Portugal) joined the project. Construction started on 11 October 1994. The pipeline came on stream on 1 November 1996 and it was commissioned on 9 November 1996. The Spanish section was inaugurated in Cordoba on 9 December 1996. The Portuguese section was inaugurated on 27 February 1997. In 2000, the pipeline was named after Pedro or Pere Duran Farell. Following the breakdown of diplomatic relations between Algeria and Morocco in August 2021, Algeria decided not to renew the 25-year MGE operation contract, which expired at midnight on 31 October 2021, opting instead to supply Spain through the

Medgaz Medgaz is a submarine natural gas pipeline transport, pipeline between Algeria and Spain. History The idea of building a direct gas pipeline between Algeria and Europe arose in the 1970s. However, the technical limitations at that time prevente ...

pipeline.

Technical description

The pipeline is long and it cost US$2.3 billion. It was built by

Bechtel Bechtel Corporation () is an American engineering, procurement, construction, and project management company founded in San Francisco, California, and headquartered in Reston, Virginia. , the ''Engineering News-Record'' ranked Bechtel as the sec ...

and

Saipem Saipem S.p.A. (Società Anonima Italiana Perforazioni E Montaggi lit. ''Drilling and Assembly Italian Public Limited Company'') is an Italian multinational oilfield services company and one of the largest in the world. Until 2016 it was a subsid ...

. The pipeline consists of five sections. The pipeline's Algerian, Moroccan and Andalusian sections are in diameter; the link to Portugal through

Extremadura Extremadura (; ext, Estremaúra; pt, Estremadura; Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is an autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central-western part of the Iberian Peninsula, it ...

is / in diameter; and the underwater sections consist of two line

An initial capacity of the pipeline was 8.6 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas per year, which was later expanded to 12 bcm.

Route and operators

The Algerian section of pipeline, long, runs from the Hassi R'mel field in Algeria to the Moroccan border. It is owned and operated by the Algerian national state-owned oil company,

. The long Moroccan section is owned by the Moroccan State and operated by Metragaz, a joint venture of Sagane (a subsidiary of Spanish

Gas Natural Naturgy Energy Group S.A''.'', formerly ''Gas Natural Fenosa'' (), is a Spanish multinational natural gas and electrical energy utilities company, which operates primarily in Spain. The company's administrative headquarters are in Barcelona, while ...

), Transgas (Portugal), and SNPP (Morocco). The length of the offshore section crossing the

Strait of Gibraltar The Strait of Gibraltar ( ar, مضيق جبل طارق, Maḍīq Jabal Ṭāriq; es, Estrecho de Gibraltar, Archaic: Pillars of Hercules), also known as the Straits of Gibraltar, is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Medi ...

is ; it is owned jointly by

(Spain), Transgas, and the Moroccan state. The length of the Andalusian section is , and the Portuguese section (in addition, there are of pipeline in the autonomous community of Extremadura).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maghreb-Europe Gas Pipeline Energy infrastructure completed in 1996 Natural gas pipelines in Algeria Natural gas pipelines in Spain Natural gas pipelines in Morocco Natural gas pipelines in Portugal Algeria–Morocco relations Algeria–Spain relations Morocco–Spain relations Morocco–Portugal relations Portugal–Spain relations Pipelines under the Mediterranean Sea 1996 establishments in Algeria 1996 establishments in Morocco 1996 establishments in Portugal 1996 establishments in Spain

History

Technical description

Route and operators

See also

References