Algeria’s 2026 hydrocarbon bidding round is arriving at a moment when timing may matter as much as geology. Oil and gas prices have been lifted by the prolonged Middle Eastern crisis, Europe is still trying to hardwire non-Russian gas into its supply system, and former Middle Eastern investors are reassessing where long-cycle upstream capital can be redirected without excessive security risk. For Algiers, this creates a sudden opening to cement its position as Europe’s second-largest natural gas supplier but also exposes the scale of…