Spain was the second destination for Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Europe during 2022, with 3.72 million tons, 51% more than the previous year. Between purchases for own supplies and downloads for third parties, it was only surpassed by France, with 5.24 million tons and 46% more.
The International Group of LNG Importers, which brings together the main importing companies or terminal managers, such as Naturgy or Iberdrola, has reported this Friday in its annual report that they were also the ones that increased the flows of gas arriving by ship the most, despite to the political will to reduce Russia’s dependence on the war in Ukraine.
Both countries remain well above average growth. Russian LNG imports increased by 9.1% in 2022 in Europe, to 14.17 million tons. It represents 11.8% of the total.
The Spanish rebound is partly due to the receipt of cargo at Spanish terminals that are then forwarded to other European partners, which reached historic levels in 2022, according to the CNMC in May. In total, Spain received 20.76 million tons from all over the world, but 1.44 million ended up being re-exported, mainly to Italy and the Netherlands.
In Spain, the US became the most important supplier with 8.30 million tons, down from 3.85 million a year earlier. It contributes more than double. The North American country did so with a great advantage over the rest, since the 4.08 million tons of Nigeria or the 3.72 million of Russia commented on remain behind.
Europe had to pull more purchases to face the year. In total, it imported 60% more LNG to make up for the cut in Russian shipments by gas pipeline and the desire to reduce dependence on Moscow. This was partly due to a change in flows traditionally destined for Asia. China is the reflection: it bought 20% less by partially replacing gas with coal.
The USA strengthens itself as the leading exporter, with sales of 51.74 million tons in 2022, more than doubling the 21.47 million tons of the previous year. Qatar was the second largest exporter to Europe, with 18.72 million tons to Europe, similar to 15.99 million in 2021.
Algeria saw its weight fall, with 9.21 million tons. The collapse was notable in Spain, going from 1.55 million tons in 2022 to 0.36 million, 77% less, in a context of political tensions with Madrid over its position on Western Sahara.
Nigeria also saw its market share in Europe and the total volume of exports decrease, which remained at 8.59 million tons in 2022, 6.5% less compared to 9.19 million the previous year.