Enagas' 2023 LNG bunkering volumes quadruple compared to 2021

Spain’s Enagas announced on May 28 that its LNG bunkering volumes in 2023 amounted to 1,359 GWh, over four times the figure of 300 GWh achieved in 2021.

The company attributed this growth to the success of public-private partnerships in projects such as CORE LNGas hive and LNGhive2, co-funded by the European Commission. These initiatives, led by Puertos del Estado and coordinated by Enagas, have developed an integrated logistics chain for the supply of LNG as fuel on the Iberian Peninsula.

The Enagas regasification terminal in Barcelona can carry out direct bunkering operations (pipe to ship, PTS) and, since the Haugesund Knutsen, a vessel co-owned by Knutsen and Scale Gas, began operating in Barcelona in early 2023, it has also been supplying LNG as fuel via small vessels (ship to ship, STS). Thanks to bunkering operations in the Port of Barcelona, 63,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent have already been avoided, the company said.

With the start of operations of the Levante LNG vessel, co-owned by Peninsula and Scale Gas, the volume loaded in the first four months of 2024 at the Enagas plant in Huelva has increased by 82% compared to the total supply in 2023, the company said. This terminal loads LNG onto STS supply barges and will soon carry out PTS operations.

Additionally, Scale Gas is building a third LNG and bioLNG supply vessel, with the support of the Spanish government through Next Generation funds, which will operate mainly in the Canary Islands from 2026.

Enagas said its terminal in Cartagena will soon also be able to offer the possibility of carrying out STS operations. In addition to these three regasification terminals, which are wholly owned by Enagas, the company’s majority-owned terminals in Spain also provide bunkering services: El Musel in Gijon, Saggas in Sagunto, and BBG in Bilbao offer truck to ship (TTS) services, with the latter also providing PTS operations.