Since the Russian military invasion of Ukraine began, Spain has seen a surge in gas sales to France reaching record levels. Over the last five months, exports to France through the two major gas pipelines have hit peak capacities. A commercial shift is unfolding as the governments of Pedro Sánchez and Emmanuel Macron debate restarting the MidCat project to create a third interconnection that could further boost Spain’s gas exports to Europe.
Spain has broken the prewar trend by increasing its gas purchases from France, returning to a net importer position. Spanish companies have doubled their gas imports from France via pipelines, and while exports have risen as well, the trade balance with France has exceeded a positive 3,000 GWh for Spain, according to official records, more than double what it was a year ago. This assessment comes from Enagás, the operator of the Spanish gas system and manager of the country’s vast pipeline network.
Two interconnections between Spain and France, the Larrau-Alçay and Irún-Biriatou pipelines, traditionally move gas from France to Spain in a north–south direction. In recent months, amid an energy crisis intensified by the Ukraine conflict, the flow dynamics have shifted. So far this year, Spain has achieved an export balance of 13,000 GWh with France, compared with a 6,700 GWh import balance recorded in the same period last year.
Spain continues to increase gas consumption despite record savings by industry and households
Spain and Germany have been pursuing a revival of a cross-Pyrenees gas pipeline project intended to transport Russian gas to Central and Northern Europe. The aim is to advance European energy independence, yet the plan has faced rejection from the French government. President Emmanuel Macron has argued that widening the interconnection remains unnecessary while current pipelines are underutilized.
Enagás notes that, at various times in recent months, gas pipelines have operated at maximum export capacity toward France. Since the start of the Ukraine war, through last week, about 75% of the balance with France favored exports to the Spanish market, and roughly 20% of days saw interconnections working at full capacity.
crash by midcat
The persistence of efforts to revive MidCat reflects a broader move to diversify gas routes and reduce reliance on a single corridor. As discussions continue, Madrid and Brussels stress the importance of storage, flexibility, and regulatory alignment to ensure security of supply across Europe.
In its latest updates, Enagás indicated that during various periods this year, the gas network exported to France at peak capacity. From the onset of the Ukraine conflict to the recent period, about three-quarters of the balance with France favored exports from Spain to the French market, with roughly one-fifth of days showing maximum utilization of the cross-border interconnections.
Gas tanks, 86%
A key driver behind Spain increasing imports from France is the seasonal goal of boosting storage levels ahead of winter, aligning with Brussels targets. Spain is actively meeting and exceeding the storage thresholds set by the European Union.
The Community plan targets 80% storage capacity in each member state by November 1, and most EU countries have reached or surpassed this level. In Spain, three underground tanks already store gas equivalent to more than 86.6% of their total capacity, with nearly 30,500 GWh held. European Commission records show France has also significantly expanded its reserves, filling around 94% of its storage capacity.
Beyond underground tanks, Spain hosts six operational regasification plants with substantial storage capacity. Spain accounts for about 34% of Europe’s regasification capacity and 44% of LNG storage capacity. The six facilities currently store over 17,300 GWh of gas, about 76% of their capacity. In the coming months, the Asturian El Musel facility is set to add storage capacity, though it will not be connected to the Spanish pipeline network and will function primarily as a warehouse facility.
More purchases from Russia
Russian gas has continued to reach Spain since the start of the Ukraine conflict. Spanish buyers have sustained purchases through the past six months and even increased imports in the summer, though volumes remain lower than those seen in European countries with direct pipelines to Russia.
In August, Spain more than doubled its imports of Russian gas to 4,500 GWh, representing about 12% of total gas imports. This uptick is described as temporary, linked to completing long-term contracts to fill storage facilities during the summer, and engineers note that such replenishment cannot be easily replicated year-round. Methane tankers have experienced reversals due to maintenance at several regasification plants across Europe.
Spain has become the third-largest importer of liquefied natural gas shipped from Russia since the conflict began, following France and Belgium. However, CREA data shows that during the summer months, particularly July and August, Spain was the world’s largest buyer of Russian ship-borne gas, with expenditures reaching around 750 million euros over two months.
Last month, the United States emerged as the largest gas supplier to the Spanish market, accounting for about 26.5% of total imports, followed by Algeria, Nigeria, and France respectively.