The EU set an 80% compulsory target for gas storage by 1 November as the bloc prepares for potential Russian gas supply cuts amid deteriorating relations over the war in Ukraine. However, Spain’s tanks at LNG terminals were last seen at 84% full, the highest level for this season in the last five years.
Gaviota Underground Storage, Spain. Credit: Enagas official website
Arturo Gozalo, the CEO of Spain’s gas energy giant Enagas has stated that “Spain is meeting the storage filling schedule in a very fast and effective way”, noting that Spain’s storage saw “some of the highest levels” in Europe.
The EU set an 80% compulsory target for gas storage by 1 November as the bloc prepares for potential Russian gas supply cuts amid deteriorating relations over the war in Ukraine. However, European facilities were last 62.1% full, data from Gas Infrastructure Europe showed. “Europe feels great uncertainty about how the next winter season will be handled,” Gonzalo added. However, Spain’s tanks at LNG terminals were last seen 84% full, the highest level for this season in the last five years, he said.
The country was home to 44% of all LNG tank capacity in the EU, Gonzalo added. Total capacity in Spanish operational LNG tanks amounted to 22.7 TWh.
As part of a 2030 strategic plan, the TSO plans to build two new underground storage facilities for renewable hydrogen, with the first one expected to start development in 2022-26, the CEO said. Yet Enagas could also refurbish some of the four existing underground sites to store hydrogen, he added.
Retrofitting the 7 TWh Yela natural gas storage site to accommodate hydrogen would require an investment of €200 million.
Related: LNG Regasification in Europe
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