The Portovenere ship, a methane tanker with 65,262 cubic meters of liquefied gas on board, set sail yesterday from the port of Sagunto in the direction of the Panigaglia regasification plant, attached to the port of La Spezia, near Genoa. In the coming weeks, the Portovenere will return to Sagunt and Barcelona to load more liquid fuel.
The shipment of liquefied gas from Spain to Italy begins. At the same time, the only two connections with France (in the Basque Country and Navarra), of a modest caliber, are working at full capacity to send gas to the other side of the Pyrenees, where they have problems maintaining more than twenty power plants. nuclear. Cracks and corrosion have been discovered in the pipes of 12 reactors. The Civaux plant, in the center of the country, is one of the most affected.
The powerful French nuclear device is not working at full capacity and the price of electricity is skyrocketing. If the Midcat existed (the third interconnection through the Pyrenees) today it would be full. The resumption of the Midcat now has the support of the European Union, with a certain French coldness. At the same time, feasibility studies have begun for an underwater gas pipeline between Barcelona and Livorno, in Italy. Like Germany, Italy is in a big hurry to reduce its dependence on Russia.
Spain’s potential in the current European energy crisis is significant and should not be underestimated. But there are also weak points. Almost at the same time as yesterday, from Brussels, the approval of the Iberian exception was announced to cap the price of gas used in electricity production, Algeria announced the suspension of the cooperation and friendship treaty with Spain, invoking the “unjustifiable ” Turn on the question of Western Sahara. wham! Hit effect.
In the morning, Pedro Sánchez had informed Congress of relations with Morocco and Algeria, trying to play down the situation.
Last Sunday, the president of Naturgy, Francisco Reynés, explained to La Vanguardia that the Algerian gas supply contracts are not at risk. At the moment, Spain is importing more gas from the United States (liquefied gas) than Algerian gas through the Medgaz pipeline.
The day before yesterday, the Italian ambassador in Spain. Riccardo Guariglia, vehemently declared to this newspaper that Italy, very interested in Algerian gas and mimosa with Algiers, will not take advantage of the situation to harm Spain in the Maghreb.
The decision adopted by Algeria does not put the gas supply at risk, but it is not innocuous. Algeria has decided to tighten the screws at a time of objective political weakness of the Spanish Government with the important Andalusian elections just around the corner.
