Page 13 - GLNG Week 33 2022

GLNG EUROPE GLNG

Scholz pushes for Iberian-

Central Europe gas pipeline

TRANSPORT GERMAN Chancellor Olaf Scholz has urged Europe so as not to depend on Russian gas and
Europe to come together to support the con- be more self-sufficient energy wise.”
struction of a natural gas pipeline from Portu- The US government and businesses have also
gal to Central Europe to support the continent’s long advocated for the Portuguese deepwater
energy security and accelerate efforts to reduce Atlantic port of Sines to be used as a gateway for
Russian imports. the country’s LNG into Europe.
Portugal and neighbouring Spain boast sig- Spain alone has six operational LNG import
nificantly under-utilised LNG import capacity, terminals with a combined import capacity of
but there are limits to how much these terminals 44.1mn tonnes per year (tpy), or 61bn cubic
can be used to supply gas beyond the Iberian metres per year. That is more than enough to
Peninsula because of capacity constraints at the meet the country’s annual gas demand, which
Spanish-French and French-German borders. totalled 36 bcm in 2021, and the Iberian Pen-
Scholz said that by overcoming these constraints, insula also benefits from pipeline supplies from
the peninsula could provide gas to help Germany Algeria and Morocco.
and other countries significantly dependent A gas pipeline that would have run between
on Russian gas to secure alternative sources of Spain’s Catalonia region, where its largest LNG
supply. terminal is located, and south-east France was
“I have spent a lot of time dealing with a pipe- proposed in 2013, but was subsequently aban-
line that we sorely lack, namely the pipeline that doned because of difficulties with securing
should have been built between Portugal, Spain, financing and a lack of political support from
through France to Central Europe,” the German France. Known as Midcat, the project would
chancellor said on August 11. “It would now have also provided a means of sending more gas
make a massive contribution to relieving and from North Africa to the rest of Europe. Mean-
easing the supply situation.” while, Italian gas grid operator Snam signed a
The chancellor’s words of support have been memorandum of understanding (MoU) with
welcomed by Portugal and Spain, which have Spain’s Enagas in May on building a pipeline link
been promoting the pipeline’s construction for between their two respective countries.
years. Scholz said he had been in discussion with
“Spain is well prepared,” Spanish Industry Spain, Portugal, France and the European Com-
Minister Reyes Maroto told Antena 3 televi- mission on the new project. But its exact scope,
sion on August 12. “We hope that if the German and whether it will incorporate previous pipeline
chancellor’s proposal prospers, we will have plans on the Iberian Peninsula, is unclear at this
better gasification and more interconnection in stage.™

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