LNG

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.

Leading European Union LNG import terminal owner and grid operator Enagás has signed an agreement in Madrid with Albania on helping the Balkan nation’s natural gas company AlbGaz develop its markets and infrastructure.

The Prime Minister of Albania Edi Rama and Spain's Energy Minister Teresa Ribera attended the signing of the Enagás-AlbGaz agreement along with the Albanian Minister of Energy and Infrastructure Belinda Balluku.

The Balkan region is one of the most vulnerable in terms of the lack of energy diversity and security and the signing of this accord is seen as another step towards helping Albania develop its economy.

AlbGaz is the Albanian Transmission System Operator (TSO) and is working to modernize the gas system in the country.

The actual gas agreement was signed by the Chief Executive of Enagás Arturo Gonzalo and his AlbGaz counterpart Arber Avrami to collaborate in the development of gas infrastructure in Albania.

“This agreement lays the foundations to contribute to the security of energy supply, not only in Albania but also at the regional level, and to the decarbonization of its economy, displacing polluting fuels and also promoting renewable gases,” said a statement.

Partnership

Arturo Gonzalo pointed out that the agreement opened up relevant avenues for future collaboration between the Spanish and Albanian gas industries.

“Cooperation between European TSOs is key in the current context. The accord is aligned with the purpose of Enagás to contribute to security of supply and decarbonisation in Europe,” added Gonzalo.

Enagás said it was already cooperating with Albania through is 16 percent shareholding of the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) which connects Turkey with Italy through Greece and Albania.

AlbGaz CEO Avrami said his nation viewed Enagás as valuable partner.

“There are possibilities for cooperation in a series of projects that include the Vlora LNG import terminal in Albania and the Dumrea Underground Storage as well as small-scale LNG distribution,” added Avrami.

“ I am convinced that this cooperation will be an additional guarantee for the realization of these ambitious projects and the vision that foresees the transformation of Albania into a regional energy centre., he stated.

A proposal was made in July 2021 for Excelerate Energy of the US and US major ExxonMobil to start a feasibility study on developing an LNG import terminal at the Port of Vlora in southern Albania.

Under that accord, Excelerate would conduct a study to explore the potential of an integrated LNG-for-power solution for the Albanians.

This would include developing an LNG import terminal, converting or expanding the existing Vlora thermal power plant and establishing small-scale LNG distribution in Albania and for the surrounding Balkans region.