Algeria Gate: On a state visit to Germany, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune refused to answer a question about the French journalist Christophe Gleizes, who was convicted by Algerian justice.
By this choice, the head of state reaffirmed that decisions by the Algerian judiciary fall under national sovereignty and are not open to debate during an official visit abroad. A strong message in favor of respect for institutions and non-interference.
ALGERIA GATE ; Eleven children never made it to the morning. A sudden fire tore through the Mohammadia Center for Assisted Childhood in the early hours of dawn, leaving 19 others injured: ten with burns of varying severity, two struggling to breathe, and seven children left carrying psychological trauma that may stay with them for a long time. Five children with special needs were pulled to safety in the final, critical moments.
These were children who knew no home beyond this center. No father waited for them, no mother saw them off at the door. The institution was all the warmth they had and in an instant, it became a tragedy.
President Abdelmadjid Tebboune extended his condolences to the victims’ families through Prime Minister Sifi Ghrieb, who personally led a ministerial delegation to the site at dawn on Thursday to check on the injured and stand with them in person. The state’s presence in those first hours sent a message: these children, despite having no families of their own, were not left to face this alone.
Civil Protection services intervened at 3:32 a.m., deploying six fire trucks, six ambulances, and the specialized GRIMP unit for hard-to-reach rescues, backed by the National Training and Intervention Unit. Karim Ben Fahsi, spokesperson for the Civil Protection Directorate General, confirmed a thorough investigation has been opened to determine every detail of a fire that, in his words, “touched every Algerian.”
The toll, though still preliminary, weighs heavily on anyone who has followed the news. Eleven innocent lives and the fire gave them no chance to escape.
Algerian Gate: Following his arrival in the German capital, Berlin, on an official visit, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune held a meeting with members of the Algerian community residing in the Federal Republic of Germany.
https://twitter.com/algatedzEng/status/2077496817936159134?s=20
During the meeting, President Tebboune listened to the various concerns and aspirations of the Algerian nationals living in the friendly country and responded to their questions.
At the invitation of his German counterpart, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune arrived earlier in Berlin for a two-day official visit to Germany.
This visit aims to strengthen the historical ties of friendship and partnership between the two countries and to reaffirm the shared commitment of both leaders to inject new momentum into bilateral cooperation and expand it to broader horizons.
Algeria Gate: Algeria exported 4.47 million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) during the first half of 2026.
While European demand stayed strong, maintenance work at the Arzew and Skikda liquefaction complexes prevented Sonatrach from fully meeting this demand, resulting in a 6.5% decline compared to the same period in 2025.
The export map remains highly concentrated, with only five countries accounting for more than 90% of Algeria’s total LNG shipments. Turkey and France alone purchased nearly two-thirds of the volume, making Algerian LNG exports heavily dependent on a small number of European markets.
Despite recording one of the weakest first-half performances since 2013, the second quarter showed signs of recovery. Shipments increased to 2.43 million tons (from 2.04 million tons in Q1), and Sonatrach delivered its first direct LNG cargo to Germany in early July.
As the second half of 2026 begins, Algeria faces a clear challenge: improving liquefaction plant readiness, diversifying its customer base, and transforming strong European demand into stable, higher-volume exports.
Algeria’s natural gas production continued to grow in early 2026. Output reached 29 billion cubic meters in the first quarter, up 1.14 billion cubic meters from Q1 2025. Production rose further in April by 7.1% year-on-year.
However, this production growth did not translate into higher LNG exports. The main bottleneck lies in the allocation of gas between the domestic market, pipeline exports (Medgas to Spain and Transmed to Italy), and liquefaction plants.
Key point: Higher field production does not automatically mean higher LNG exports unless liquefaction facilities operate at optimal capacity and sufficient feedstock is available.
Scheduled maintenance at the Arzew and Skikda complexes during the first four months of the year significantly reduced available volumes for export. January saw exports fall to just 440,000 tons, among the lowest monthly figures in recent years.
Monthly export performance was as follows:
The large gap between peak and low months (590,000 tons) clearly shows how sensitive Algerian LNG exports are to maintenance schedules and plant availability.
Although the overall first-half result was negative, Q2 exports rose 19.1% to 2.43 million tons compared to the first quarter. The year-on-year decline narrowed from 8.5% in Q1 to 4.7% in Q2, indicating gradual improvement in operational capacity.
Comparing multiple years reveals a deeper decline. First-half LNG exports dropped from 6.25 million tons in 2024 to 4.78 million tons in 2025, and further to 4.47 million tons in 2026; a cumulative loss of 1.78 million tons (28.5%).
Export concentration remains very high:
Together, these two markets accounted for nearly 64% of Algeria’s total LNG exports in the first half of 2026.
The top five markets absorbed 90.2% of all Algerian LNG exports, leaving very little volume for other destinations.
Europe received 100% of Algeria’s LNG exports during the first half of 2026. Proximity, existing infrastructure, and long-term contracts make the European market the natural and most competitive destination.
Europe is expected to increase LNG imports by around 13% in 2026 to rebuild inventories before winter. Geopolitical risks around the Strait of Hormuz further enhance the strategic value of reliable suppliers like Algeria.
On July 2, 2026, Sonatrach delivered its first direct LNG shipment to Germany at the Wilhelmshaven 1 terminal. This delivery marks an important step in diversifying Algeria’s export destinations beyond traditional Mediterranean buyers.
Sonatrach operates four liquefaction complexes with a total annual capacity of up to 56 million cubic meters. However, actual performance is affected by maintenance, feedstock availability, and operational efficiency.
The real challenge is not capacity, but maximizing uptime and exploitation rates to meet European demand during high-price periods.
Algeria enters the second half facing three key tests:
The future of Algerian LNG exports will depend on operational improvements and market diversification, not just European demand.
