Gas began filling the Medgaz Pipeline, which runs from Beni Saf, Algeria, to the Spanish coast at Almeria, after another valve was opened offshore Algeria in the days leading up to the Almeria ceremony.

The sequence for commissioning the Medgaz Pipeline consisted of a phase of commissioning and a start-up phase. During the commissioning phase all of the pipeline systems were verified, while gas has been gradually introduced into the pipeline during the start-up phase.

The Medgaz consortium will continue the process by increasing gas volumes up to the total system capacity and anticipates that the pipeline will be technically ready to operate at capacity within a few weeks.

A consortium of five companies including Sonatrach, Cepsa, Iberdrola, Endesa and GDF Suez formed the company Medgaz to develop the pipeline project.