Spain cannot cope: the stoppage of the large industry causes a traffic jam of methane tankers on the coasts

Spain is not enough.

Europe's race to fill gas reserves before winter has collided in Spain with the stoppage of large industry in response to the rise in fuel prices.

Enagás' diagnosis is clear.

The supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) has already exceeded demand, causing

that arrive on the Spanish coast.

According to figures from the gas system manager, the Spanish regasification plants are at 80% of their capacity, while underground storage is close to 93% full.

Paradoxically, since last August, there has been a collapse in industrial demand compared to forecasts, which has resulted in

, the gateway to the Spanish docks.

In recent weeks, an average of

has arrived in Spain .

A record compared to the rate of downloads from previous years.

This has overwhelmed the country's gas reserves, but has reduced the flexibility to deal with deviations in demand that the country suffers.

This situation is not an isolated event, according to the company chaired by

, but is being repeated in other European countries.

Last September, the demand for gas for industrial use

compared to the same period in 2021. "

are being registered in the tanks of all the regasification plants of the system that is planned that it be maintained, at least, until the first week of November", warned Enagás this Monday.

The collapse in industrial demand is such that it is not enough to offset the boom in dependence on natural gas to produce electricity that the country is experiencing.

According to Enagás forecasts, between November and December alone, the consumption of this fuel for electricity generation could

, in the most likely scenario.

A scenario that the company explains by the increase in international electricity exports and the lower performance of other technologies, such as hydraulic, wind or nuclear.

Ribera points to France and Portugal

The Minister for the Ecological Transition,

, focused on this situation at the press conference after the Council of Ministers on Tuesday.

"The increase in gas consumption is

," said the third vice president, who stressed how the increase in exports has strained the national electricity market and, consequently, the demand for gas to produce electricity.

"The drop in hydroelectric production due to the drought has triggered the flow of energy to Portugal, a country that this October

," Ribera stressed.

To the Portuguese appetite we must add the acceleration of purchases from France, where the nuclear break has triggered the rate of gas imports from our country to historical levels.

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