Algeria: exchanging shale gas for Western Sahara?
A report by the pro-Morocco North Africa Post on 18th August described the conflict in Western Sahara as reaching a “watershed moment” presenting what it called a choice between continuing a “bloody journey leading to nowhere” or pursuing “peace and compromise”.
In October, the UN Security Council is set to hold what the outlet termed a “pivotal” meeting on Western Sahara as the US, France and UK explore ways to move the protracted dispute towards resolution. The outlet said discussions are likely to focus on Morocco’s proposed Autonomy Plan, which would place Western Sahara under Moroccan sovereignty with limited self-rule.
According to the outlet, Algerian authorities are intensifying diplomatic and economic manoeuvres ahead of the meeting in order to delay or block the resolution of the conflict in favour of Morocco. It characterised Algeria’s leadership as seeking “personal survival at all costs”, linking the issue to unresolved legacies of the 1990s civil conflict which saw hundreds of thousands of people killed.
The report further alleged that Algiers is using energy policy to influence international positions, including what is described as a “shale gas for Western Sahara” deal. Algeria is reportedly close to finalising agreements with the US energy giants Exxon Mobil and Chevron to extract natural gas and shale in eastern Sahara.
The outlet suggested this could be aimed at softening US policy on Western Sahara, avoiding the designation of Polisario as a terrorist organisation and keeping the Sahara listed on the UN Security Council agenda.
Such arrangements would not affect long-standing and mutually beneficial relations between Washington and Rabat, emphasised the report. The US President Donald Trump recognised Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara in 2020, and subsequent administrations have upheld that stance.
Algeria maintains a longstanding position of commitment to Sahrawi self-determination, rejecting Morocco’s claim to sovereignty and supporting the Polisario Front both politically and diplomatically. Algiers has been suffering from increasing diplomatic isolation in North Africa amid Western endorsements of Morocco’s autonomy plan.
Disputes over Western Sahara remain the primary point of contention in Rabat-Algiers relations, with Algeria viewing support for Sahrawi independence as a critical matter tied to anti-colonial solidarity and regional balance.
The North Africa Post, Maghrebi
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