MADRID, 10 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Imports of natural gas to Spain from Algeria fell 4.7% in May compared to last April, reaching 9,094 gigawatt hours (GWh), while exports to France shot up to record highs.
According to the data from the latest Enagás Statistical Bulletin, the consumption of natural gas from Algeria, a country that has decided to suspend foreign trade operations with Spain in response to the Government’s shift in relation to Western Sahara, continued to fall in recent months .
Thus, of the 9,094 GWh imported from the African country in May, 7,003 GWh were by tube (Medgaz), while that arrived by methane tanker (LNG) skyrocketed compared to last month, with 2,091 GWh. However, it continues to be the second main supplier of Spain, with 24.8% in the month.
For its part, the United States consolidates month after month as the maximum supplier for Spain, after the ‘sorpasso’ carried out in January, and in May imports from the country exceeded 13,000 GWh, to account for 35.7% of the total natural gas arrived in the country in the month.
Nigeria is also confirmed as the country’s third largest supplier of natural gas, with a total of 4,946 GWh, 13.5% of that consumed in the month.
In the case of Russia, gas imports from the country remain at 3,289 GWh, accounting for 9% of the total arrivals in Spain in May.
With regard to exports with France, through the VIP Pyrenees interconnection, they shot up in May to a record figure of 6,185 GWh.
Normally used to import natural gas from the neighboring country, since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine there has been a complete change, making Spain an exporter to Europe.
Already in April it reached an export figure from Spain to France of 5,618 GWh, but in May it increased by 10% compared to last month to that record figure of 6,185 GWh.
Also notable in May was the significant increase in ship unloading, which shot up 79% compared to the same month last year, bringing a total of 28,424 GWh to the Spanish regasification plants, compared to 15,875 GWh in the same month of 2021.
Thus, the number of ships unloaded throughout the month of May in Spain grew by 72.2%, reaching the figure of 31, 13 more than in the same month last year.
Natural gas coming to Spain by ship (LNG) represented 75.1% of the total in April, compared to just 54.1% just a year ago.
