Spain will offer Brussels to maximize gas supplies to EU countries as a sign of solidarity following the EC’s demand to cut Community consumption by 15%. Over the past five years, the country has exported an average of 2 terawatt hours (TWh) per month, and now claims it can reach up to 6.7 TWh per month through pipelines already in place.
According to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Environmental Transition Teresa Ribera, the counter-proposal will be officially presented on Tuesday during the meeting of the energy ministers of the member states.
The country’s position is that from August this year to March next, it can supply 5.6 billion cubic meters of gas (bcm) and thus help Brussels in its call to save about 45 billion cubic meters.
In terms of liquefied natural gas, Spain can supply almost 13% of the EU’s needs. It has a total of six active regasification plants, representing a third of the EU’s regasification capacity and 44% of the Community’s LNG storage potential.
Recently, the seventh plant, which was presented as key for exports to European partners, received permission to start work.
The possibility of increasing the capacity of gas pipelines with France is also being discussed.
The construction of a new underwater gas pipeline to Italy is also underway, which will have a capacity of 30 billion cubic meters per year.
According to Teresa Ribera, Spain’s proposal to Brussels is good and shows that “solidarity is at the core of the EU’s response to guarantee security of supply”, after the decision to limit Russian gas, therefore it should be considered in detail, reports BNR.
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