Gas imports from Algeria plummet by 41.11% in the first half of the year

Imports of gas from Algeria fell by 41.11% in the first half of 2022 compared to the same period last year, while purchases of this raw material from Russia increased by 3.2% year-on-year in the first six months of the year, according to the latest data from the Enagás Statistical Bulletin for June.

In the first half of the year, Spain bought 55,962 gigawatt hours (GWh) of gas from Algeria, of which 51,484 GWh (92%) arrived by pipeline (Medgaz) and the rest in methane tankers in the form of liquefied natural gas (LNG). These figures represent a 40% drop in Algerian gas arriving in Spain by pipeline compared to the first half of 2021.

The loss of weight of purchases from the African country is also noticeable in the accumulated data, given that in the first half of 2021 they accounted for 47.7% of total imports of this fuel, while in the first six months of 2022 they fell to 24.7%.

In the case of Russia, despite the geopolitical situation arising from the invasion of Ukraine, Spain bought a record 8,752 GWh of gas from this country in June, compared with 6,587 GWh in the same month of 2021 and around 3,000 GWh per month so far in 2022. This represents an increase of 32.9% year-on-year.

Thus, 24.4% of the 35,890 GWh of gas imported by Spain in the sixth month of the year came from Russia, making it the second largest domestic supplier of this raw material after the United States.

In the cumulative first half of 2022, Russian gas imports amounted to 22,948 GWh, i.e. 3.2% more than the 22,236 GWh in the first half of 2021. In the first six months of 2022, purchases from Russia accounted for 10.1% of the total, while in the same period of 2021 they accounted for 11.2%.

The US has consolidated its position as Spain's main gas supplier, given that 29.6% of imports in June, with 10,618 GWh, and 34.4% of purchases in the first half of the year (78,078 GWh) came from the North American country.

The cumulative figures for the first half of the year indicate that US gas imports have multiplied by 4.3, rising from 18,184 GWh in the first half of 2021 to 78,078 GWh between January and June 2022.

Likewise, the 10,618 GWh of gas imported from the United States in June 2022 represents an increase of 764.65% compared to the 1,228 GWh purchased in the same month last year, i.e. a more than eight-fold increase.

In addition to the USA, Algeria and Russia, Nigeria also stands out as one of the main suppliers of gas to Spain, given that in the first half of the year 14% of imports of this raw material came from this country.

Exports with France, via the VIP Pyrenees interconnection, stood at 3,051 GWh in June, compared with 1,265 GWh in the sixth month of 2021.

Usually used to import natural gas from the neighbouring country, since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine there has been a total change, making Spain an exporter to Europe.

Already in April, Spain's exports to France reached 5,618 GWh, and in May this increased by 10% over the previous month, to a record 6,185 GWh.

June also saw a significant increase in the unloading of vessels, which soared by 52.4% compared to the same month last year, bringing a total of 27,595 GWh to Spanish regasification plants, compared to 18,106 GWh in the same month of 2021.

Thus, the number of vessels unloaded during June in Spain grew by 38.1%, reaching 29, eight more than in the same month last year.