Enagás executives and Spanish local and government officials have visited the Spanish Gijón regasification terminal at El Musel in the Asturias region of northwest Spain and have proposed the facility as an LNG hub for re-exporting cargoes into the European Union.
After their visit and talks on July 7, the Spanish issued a statement saying that the El Musel terminal could contribute up to 8 billion cubic metres per annum of LNG deliveries and contribute to the EU’s energy security.
Present at the El Musel talks were Spain’s Vice President and Minister for Energy and Ecology, Teresa Ribera, the President of the Asturias region, Adrián Barbón, the Mayor of Gijón, Ana González, and the Chief Executive of Enagás, Arturo Gonzalo.
Enagás has capacity at six LNG regasification terminals in Spain. It owns five terminals at Barcelona in the northeast, at Cartagena in the southeast, at Sagunto in the east of Spain, at Huelva in the southwest and at the El Musel facility.
It also owns a 50 percent stake at another northwest facility serving the northwest port of Bilbao and owns two small regasification terminals in the Canary Islands.
The statement went on to explain that logistical use of the El Musel facility would contribute energy supply in Europe because of the reducing dependence on Russian pipeline natural gas.
“The terminal allows the unloading of LNG carriers from various producing countries and the rapid re-loading of ships for different European destinations,” they explained.
Storage and berths
The El Musel facility has a storage capacity of 300,000 cubic metres in two tanks each with 150,000 cubic metres of capacity.
It also has docking and unloading facilities designed for the largest LNG carriers such as the Qatari Q-Max vessels of 266,000 cubic metres capacity.
Enagás disclosed after the meeting at El Musel that it had obtained the Administrative Authorization for El Musel’s use as a hub, a key step in starting up the Asturian terminal, and added that it could be operational for logistics use within a period of between six and eight months.
“The facility can contribute to the security of energy supply in Europe, with the capacity to unload and load 100 LNG ships per year,” said the statement.
This authorization will follow soon after a favourable report from Spain’s National Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC), clearing the way for the approval of the Environmental Impact Statement (DIA) for the terminal and its support facilities.
El Musel will have a special status so that it can be used for LNG logistical services with a start-up order from the Energy Ministry and with Enagás in charge of the technical operations.
“Once this process is finished, the plant could be operational for logistical use in a period of between six and eight months,” explained Enagás CEO Gonzalo.
“At the Gijón terminal they can unload and load more than 100 LNG ships per year, which represents a contribution of up to 8 Bcm,” added Gonzalo.
