Date Published: 09/03/2023
ARCHIVED - Imports of Russian gas to Spain shoot up by 192 per cent
Russia is now the fourth largest supplier of natural gas to Spain
Just a month before the EU placed yet another embargo on Russian exports, blocking imports of oil products from the invading country, the flow of natural gas to Spain shot up by a staggering 192.5%.
This incredible rise means that in January, Russian gas went from making up 5.8% of total imports in 2022 to 19.2% this year, placing Putin’s government as the fourth largest supplier of natural gas to Spain after Algeria, the US and Nigeria.
The increase stands out all the more given that imports through the gas pipeline and liquefied natural gas actually fell by 24.4% overall this January compared to last.
And the increased imports from Russia have become something of a trend: last year, when Ukraine was first invaded in February, the Spanish government was importing 2,174 gigawatt hours (Gwh), but this figure reached 5,317 Gwh in July, effectively doubling.
When this is broken down by geographical area, gas supplies from Europe and Eurasia have increased by 96.1%, as have imports from Asia Pacific, while those from the Middle East (-68.6%), Central and South America (-49.2%), North America (-45.8%) and Africa (-3.6%) decreased.
On the other hand, Spain is also exporting more energy than ever and in the first month of the year, 7,409 Gwh of natural gas was sent abroad, which represents a 103.7% increase on January 2022. The majority was exported through the gas pipeline (56.1%) while the remaining 43.9% was sent as liquefied natural gas.
France is still the main destination for Spanish exports (3,111 GWh, 42% of the total), followed by Italy (1,829 GWh, 24.7%).
Image: Freepik
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