The dependence on the African country, where a quarter of this raw material comes from, together with the marketing of ships with LNG, forms a challenge to get through the winter
The same week in which Europe proposed to reduce gas consumption by 15% for all countries, Spain refused that measure because “duties have been fulfilled here”, as the Minister for the Transition Ecological, Teresa Ribera recalled; the supply from Algeria has changed for several hours, reducing the injection through the gas pipeline connecting that country to Almeria. The incident – a technical “malfunction” at the worst possible time – caused the “brief shutdown” of the Mezgaz across the Mediterranean. The problem persisted for two hours on the Algerian side and was later rectified.
While supplies were not affected, this contingency reveals the instability that Spain also faces in terms of energy, despite being in a more favorable position than the rest of the European Union. The ‘energy island’ made up of Spain and Portugal has for years forced them to equip themselves with regasification plants to attract methane tankers, given the impossibility of receiving European gas. And the connection to the Maghreb has also brought stability. But now everything has changed.
Any decision on the ships or in Algiers could bring the economy to a standstill. In the case of neighboring Algeria, imports have fallen by 41% in the first half of 2022 compared to the same period of the previous year, while purchases of this commodity from Russia have increased by 3.2% in terms of year-on-year year in the first six months of the year, according to the latest data from the Enagás Statistical Bulletin and corresponding to June.
The weight loss of purchases from the African country is also noted in the collected data, as they accounted for 47.7% of the total imports of this fuel in the first half of 2021, while they decreased in the first six months of 2022. to 24.7%.
The dependence, although it has decreased in recent months, is still highly relevant and represents a quarter of the gas received from abroad. Any problem that arises, even unexpectedly as occurred on Sunday due to the technical failure in the Mezgaz, puts pressure on the supply. And that in a context and movements to which European countries are already accustomed: Russia has already started shutting down gas since last summer, with alleged technical problems that eventually led to official decisions.
The other part of the supply comes via methane tankers. In fact, it already represents 76% of the gas imports the peninsula receives, compared to an average of 45% last year. In this case, Spain has an advantage for the time being. By having five regasification plants in different ports (Barcelona, Valencia, Cartagena, Huelva and Bilbao), the capacity to receive gas (LNG) is increased. In fact, the US has definitely established itself as the main gas supplier to Spain, as 34.4% of the purchases in the first half of the year (78,078 GWh) came from the North American country, from where the gas arrives in ships. .
But here too there are risks. This was confirmed in early June when the operator of one of the largest liquefied natural gas export plants in the United States closed due to an explosion at its facilities on the Texas Gulf coast. The fire shocked the natural gas markets. That incident has already led to a rise in raw material prices. And it greatly heightened the tension in a system of methane carriers moving almost like a Persian market, changing their routes in search of the highest bidder anywhere in the world.
While Spain will continue to attract these ships for now, any problem or decision could lead to another bump in the face of a winter that is more than energetically complex for Europe.
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.
