There have been many voices reviving the industry in recent months, including the Catalan employers’ association Foment del Treball. failing MidCat pipelineintended double the gas connection capacity come in Spain and France. The project was shelved due to cost and low commercial interest. most ukraine war and probability Russia closes the supply taprequired for countries such as GermanyThe debate resurfaces around this unborn infrastructure, and it’s Spain What gas supplier to Europealbeit a lot annoyed.
this medium cat It was a project of Spanish gas operators (enagas) and French (terega) started in the early 2000s with a planned investment of 3,000 million Euros for transportation. 7.5 billion cubic meters natural gas in both directions every year – currently there are two gas pipelines connecting Spain and France: Larrau-Alcay and Irun-Biriatou with a total capacity of 7,000 million cubic meters – from installation 1,250 kilometersAbout 800 kilometers in France and 450 kilometers in Spain.
Although the first stage (known as STEP rails) consisted of a 227 kilometer tube connecting the France-Spain border via the Pyrenees and Girona. But the National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) and its French counterpart, the Commission de régulation de l’énergie (CRE) canceled the first phase of the scheme in 2019, and the European Union did the same a year later. Assume that there is no interest on the part of you. marketersas for, high costs infrastructure and gas interconnection capacity between the two countries it was not crowded.
The Iberian Peninsula has a strategic gas location and structure, as it has one-third of its natural gas capacity. regasification above all European Union (Spain has six regasification plants and Portugal is one of 23 on the continent), supply securitybecause he can bring boots inaccessible by gas pipeline France or from Algeria (Medgaz, after the closure of the Maghreb-Europe crossing Morocco in December). But very limited when it comes to to share all that massive liquefied natural gas (LNG) capacity you have access to. this bottleneck comes to these 7,000 million cubic meters If MidCat were currently available, the maximum capacity that could be transported via French interconnections would have almost doubled to 15,000 million cubic metres.
Although true, the French connection is minimal and is mainly used to import energy. Used in 2021 less than 30% capacity First of all bring the existing tubes and above all gas from france –Spain imported 20,217 gigawatt-hours and exported 13,727 gigawatt-hours–. Also, see Photography In general, the capacity of the gas pipeline Nord Stream 1neither CONECT Germany and Russia through Baltic Sea, holds 55,000 million cubic meters of gas. And indeed, the intention of both countries is to replicate this with Nord Stream 2, which is now paralyzed after the start of the war. Therefore, Spain’s supply to Europe would remain limited even if MidCat was in operation.
On the other hand, Teresa Ribera, third vice president and minister for Ecological Transition, referred to this resurgence of MidCat this Monday to make sure nothing will change if construction of a new pipe begins in the coming months. “A infrastructure one of these features is probably not a solution that facilitates access to gas. Middle Europe tomorrow neither the day after tomorrow nor for the next few months,” Ribera warned at a forum she hosted this Monday. Expansion. “This link should be thought of as useful all over the world. infrastructure lifethinking that I should be prepared for what might happen Required for ages ten and up‘, the vice president added.
Head of government Pedro Sánchez went further, noting in an interview with TVE that the key is to build interconnections that serve as pipelines, not gas pipelines. green hydrogen, looking for renewable technology vector change gas to advance the decarbonisation of the economy in the future.
CEO of Redexis, Fidel Lopez Soriaadmitted that ” physical connections it will be difficult to increase them”, but in his opinion it will be “necessary”. While CEO of Nortegas, Xavier ContrerasHe added that one of the biggest controversies Spain has to face is precisely how to expand its own connections. Why can’t we make an effort to increase the interconnection capacity with France with the two natural gas pipelines we are already building? Regasification center and attraction of methane tankers So that we can not only use some of that natural gas but also direct it to Europe? a chance we have and in a thread pragmatic energy shift and together long-term vision we can see ourselves as a country”, Contreras added.