The arrival of methane tankers already represents 75% of imports, compared to the stagnation of Algeria, whose contribution has been reduced by a third after the war in Ukraine
The geostrategic changes are being made to keep gas supplies stable in Spain after nearly three months of war in Ukraine. Spain has completely changed the origin of its suppliers, after the tensions that arose in Russia – the main exporter to Europe – and after the conflict with Algeria, from which the Iberian Peninsula received a large part of this raw material. With April data in hand, the United States is consolidating itself as the largest gas supplier in Spain. And other regions whose contribution was almost residual until two months ago, such as Nigeria, Egypt or Qatar, among others, are increasing their exports.
In particular, gas from the United States represented 30.7% of all imports of this product in April, arriving via methane tankers at one of the six regasification plants in Spain. On average, the US economy has been supplying one-third of the gas consumed by Spain so far this year. Until a year ago, he was only injecting 20%.
Behind it are imports from Algeria, via the Mezgas gas pipeline, which connects that country to Almeria. It represents 23.4% of the total in April, a figure lower than what this strategic partner usually represented in energy. Up to 40% of the gas Spain needed came from Algiers last year. But the closure of the gas pipeline, closed since November 2021, connecting that area to Cádiz via Morocco, has cut imports from this supplier by a third.
Little by little, the new energy partners are consolidating their gas positions over the weeks. For example, in April nearly 17% of the gas Spain needed came from Nigeria, when the last year’s average barely exceeded 10%; from Egypt, 6%, compared to an average of 1%; and from Qatar, 4.4%, practically double 12 months ago. Russia, for its part, continues to contribute 8%, practically the same percentage as before the invasion began.
At the same time, exports from the peninsula to Europe, via the gas pipelines from the Basque Country and Navarra connecting to France, continue to grow, despite the minimum capacity with regard to all the gas that Spain can receive via methane tankers or gas tankers. pipeline of the Argelia. The invasion of Ukraine has changed the direction of gas circulation and the two gas pipelines are currently operating at full capacity. Spain exported 5,618 gigawatt hours (GWh) to France in April and received only 464. It is the first time in history that a negative balance of this dimension occurs.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
