Spanish imports of LNG in December rose by more than 60 percent compared with the same month a year ago to a total of 25 cargoes received at the nation’s six operating regasification facilities.
The majority of imports came from Nigeria and Peru, followed by volumes from Algeria, Qatar, Angola and Norway, according to national transmission company and terminal owner Enagas.
Enagas has four fully owned regasification terminals in Barcelona, Cartagena, Huelva and Gijon.
It also has 50 percent of the Bahía Bizkaia Gas (BBG) plant in Bilbao and 72.5 percent of the Saggas terminal in Sagunto. All of them have the necessary technology for the unloading and reloading of carriers, which allows the company to reinforce the supply structure in Spain.
The increase in the need for LNG cargoes was prompted by colder weather in Europe and a rise in gas-fired power generating capacity, which in terms of LNG amounted to 20.2 terawatt hours (TWh) in December compared with 12.5 TWh in the same month of 2015.
The Sagunto terminal in eastern Spain received the most shipments during the month, with seven cargoes arriving.
The Enagas report also showed that six cargoes were landed at the Huelva terminal in southwest Spain and four more in the northeast port of Barcelona.
The southeast port of Cartagena received three shipments, as did the Bilbao terminal in the northwest, while the second northwest facility at Mugardos, near El Ferrol, received two cargoes.
Enagas said that demand for natural gas in Spain during 2016 rose by 2 percent to 321 TWh, while industrial demand increased by 3 percent during the year, in line with the evolution of the economy.
