Portugal seeks to position itself as Europe’s ‘new gateway for gas’

The European Union will struggle to cut dependence on Russian gas, but must do so to avoid possible supply shortfalls next winter, a Portuguese minister said on Wednesday (16 March), adding Portugal’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports could help.

Russia supplies around 40% of the bloc’s natural gas.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, EU leaders have agreed to phase out Russian fossil fuels and the Commission has said it will publish a detailed plan in May for EU countries to stop using Russian gas, oil and coal by 2027.

Eventually, the bloc is seeking to wean itself off fossil fuels more broadly as it aims for net zero emissions by 2050.

“The war in Ukraine will definitely push Europe towards faster decarbonisation because it cannot rely so much on fossil fuels that it does not produce,” Portugal’s Environment and Energy Transition Minister João Matos Fernandes told Reuters in an interview.

“It won’t be easy. It’s a Herculean task but it’s a necessity, because Europe must diversify the sources of its natural gas imports.”

EU leaders, while supporting a reduction in the use of Russian fossil fuel have stopped short of an outright ban.

Germany, which receives pipeline gas direct from Russia and lacks import capacity for LNG, has been at the forefront of those to have raised concerns of economic damage.

NETWORK ROUNDUP: EU split on Russian oil and gas ban

Germany and Hungary are the most vocal opponents of an EU import ban on Russian energy, which is staunchly supported by Poland, while France and others sit on the fence.

Portugal by contrast imports LNG through Sines – the closest European port to the United States.

Matos Fernandes said “the port of Sines could be a new gateway for gas coming to Europe” from suppliers including Nigeria and Trinidad and Tobago, as well as the United States.

Portugal has plans to improve the efficiency of LNG offloading in Sines, increase storage and build a third pipeline to Spain, within four years, “which would increase its firm export capacity to Spain from 70 GW per day to 150 GW per day,” he said.

But, for that to be effective, he said it is crucial to build a second gas pipeline between Spain and France.

Many environmental campaigners oppose new gas pipelines and say the focus should be on investing in renewable energy.

Earlier this month, a director of French pipeline operator Terega told Reuters there was no discussion on the relaunch of gas pipeline projects between France and Spain, which could take up to five years to come to fruition. Instead efforts were directed to optimising the operation of existing gas pipelines.

Spain is pushing to revive the MidCat interconnector with France, a project that was stopped in 2019 after French and Spanish regulators rejected a key section of the planned pipeline.

Teresa Ribera reproaches France for lack of engagement in gas interconnection

Spain’s energy Minister, Teresa Ribera, assured that “it is very difficult to make progress” with France on the construction of a gas pipeline that will allow Spain to export its stored gas to the rest of Europe.

[Edited by Frédéric Simon]

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