Spanish Gas Demand Down in 1H: Enagas

Spanish gas demand in 1H16 declined by 1.3% year-on-year to 158.9 terawatt-hours of gas (14.8bn m^³) owing mainly to more hydroelectric generation this year than last, said Enagas, the country's gas transmission system operator (TSO) on July 19.

It noted that industrial demand, which represents over half of Spain's gas consumption, remained robust, growing by 2% compared with 1H 2015. Enagas said the trend of industrial demand is consistent with the Spanish economy's performance and forecasts for Spanish GDP for year-end 2016.

The company reported 1H 2016 net profit up 0.5% year-on-year at €214.2mn, with affiliates contributing 12.3% of that, compared with 11.4% in 1H 2015. It also reduced net debt from €4.2bn at end-2015 to €4bn in mid-2016.

Sagunto terminal offices and LNG storage tanks (Photo credit: operator Saggas)

Last month Enagas agreed to increase its stakes in the Sagunto LNG terminal (Saggas) to 72.5% and in Chile's Quintero LNG terminal to 60.4%. In March 2016 it agreed to buy a 1.64% stake in Peruvian TSO Transportadora de gas del Peru from local firm Grana y Montero, increasing Enagas's stake to 25.98%.

Mark Smedley