Spain said an additional link in a gas pipeline from the Iberian Peninsula to France could be ready within nine months, after Germany backed the idea of connecting the region to central Europe to improve the continent’s energy security.
Spanish Energy and Environment Minister Teresa Ribera said on Friday that a new section of the pipeline from Spain to France could be built in less than a year as part of efforts to wean Europe off Russian gas.
The new link could increase Spain’s gas export capacity by 20-30 percent, she told Spanish broadcaster TVE.
Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa said: “Germany can count 100 percent on Portugal’s commitment to the construction of a gas pipeline.” Writing on Twitter on Thursday, Costa added: “Today gas, tomorrow green hydrogen.”
The move comes as Europe grapples with its biggest energy crisis in at least a generation since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February. Moscow has cut gas supplies to Europe and there are risks of shortages this winter and into 2023 if Russian exports are cut further.
The loss of Russian supplies, which met 40 percent of EU demand before the invasion, has forced Europe to rely more heavily on imported LNG cargoes by sea.
But much of Europe’s LNG import capacity is located on the Iberian Peninsula, which is seen in the industry as a gas “island” because it has limited pipeline capacity connecting it to northern Europe.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Thursday he had discussed a new pipeline with the leaders of Spain, Portugal and France and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
He added that there will be “other connections between North Africa and Europe that will help us diversify ours [energy] delivery’.
Europe must find ways to adjust its internal pipeline arteries, which were designed on the assumption that much of the continent’s supplies would come from Russia.
Even if the continent can secure alternative supplies such as liquefied natural gas or more pipeline exports from countries including Norway or Algeria, there are fears of difficulty moving supplies east to countries closer to Russia.
Wholesale gas prices in Europe have jumped to almost 10 times the average level of the past decade.
The EU is trying to emphasize “solidarity” in terms of sharing and conserving energy supplies between member states ahead of what is expected to be a difficult winter. But there are still questions about the rules and agreements governing how to allocate resources if there is a widespread shortage.
Until the new pipeline is completed, Costa said the port of Sines on Portugal’s southwest coast could be used as a logistics hub to transport LNG to the rest of Europe.
Add Comment