Algeria produces highest level of natural gas in years
Algeria’s natural gas production hit its highest first-half level in three years, according to Algerie Eco on 23 August.
The country produced 54.01 billion cubic metres of gas between January and June 2026, up 4.2% from 51.81 billion cubic metres over the same period in 2025. This represents the strongest first-half figure since 2023, when production reached 54.72 billion cubic metres before dipping to 53.61 billion in 2024 and 51.81 billion in 2025. In 2022, production stood at 49.23 billion cubic metres.
The rise this year came from increases in nearly every month, except June, which saw a slight 0.4% dip to 8.17 billion cubic metres, according to JODI data. Algeria’s highest monthly production on record remains March 2023’s 13.18 billion cubic metres, although January 2026 came close, reaching 10.437 billion cubic metres.
Domestic demand is also climbing. Gas consumption reached 28.49 billion cubic metres in the first half of 2026, a 6.3% increase from 26.81 billion the previous year. Local consumption now accounts for roughly 53% of total production, driven largely by electricity generation, which still relies heavily on natural gas in Algeria.
To ease this dependency over time, Algeria is working to expand the share of solar energy in its electricity mix. Two new solar plants, with a combined capacity of 400 MW, came online in May as part of the first phase of a national programme aiming to add 3.2 GW of solar capacity by 2027.
On the export side, total gas exports, combining pipeline and LNG shipments, rose 2.4% to 23.97 billion cubic metres, largely thanks to stronger pipeline volumes. LNG exports, however, fell 6.5% to 4.47 million tonnes, partly due to maintenance operations. While the second quarter saw a rebound to 2.43 million tonnes, LNG exports dropped again in July to 495,000 tonnes, one of the lowest monthly totals recorded since 2013.
Additionally, Algeria has become Spain’s leading gas supplier with 47% of its imports, confirming its position by exporting about 10,707 gigawatt-hours of gas only in July, with 74,336 GWh since January.
Algérie Eco, Maghrebi.org
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