This could have been Algeria’s moment: Europe’s efforts to wean itself off Russian gas should have provided the north African country with a golden opportunity to maximise exports and carve out a bigger share of the continent’s energy market.
In a sign of renewed western interest in the country’s oil and gas resources, senior figures, including Mario Draghi, Italy’s prime minister, and Antony Blinken, US secretary of state, visited Algiers in recent weeks to discuss energy security as Europe seeks to reduce its dependence on Russian gas.
This interest in the hydrocarbons exporter and the rise in oil and gas prices bring some welcome relief to a country that has been burning through its foreign currency reserves since the oil price plummeted in 2014.