A ship loaded with liquefied natural gas arrived last night off the coast of Bilbao from the Russian Yamal peninsula. With a length of 300 meters, the flag of Hong Kong and a storage capacity of 175,000 cubic meters, the “Nikolav Urvantsev” has begun unloading at the Bahía de Bizkaia Gas (BBG) regasification plantone of the main gas entry routes in the Cantabrian strip.
Given the controversy generated in recent hours, precisely for this reason, the Port of Bilbao wanted to remind us that for the time being in Europe there is no ban on importing gas from Russia and that, like the Nikolav Urvantsev, many methane tankers of these characteristics continue to arrive at ports throughout the Old Continent.
minimal impact
That yes, after the announcement of the United Kingdom about prohibiting the entry of Russian ships in its ports, different countries in Europe have opened the door to the implementation of similar measures. In Spain, the current proposal would have little or no impact on LNG imports, according to the energy information company Energy Intelligence.
The UK Transport Secretary Grant Shappsannounced on February 28 a broad ban on Russian vessels, which in his case included those flying the Russian flag, those owned by him, as well as those controlled, chartered and operated by Russia.
That same day, the Spanish Ministry of Transport communicated its intention to prohibit the supply and provisioning of Russian ships or ships owned by Russian companies in national ports. According to Energy Intelligence, “the key piece missing from the Spanish proposal is the vessels chartered by Russia“And it is that the fact that the British ban is directed directly at these ships has forced several ships, with cargo from Yamal, to divert from the United Kingdom to other terminals in northwestern Europe.
Problems for Naturgy
An extension of the veto to ships chartered by Russia could cause headaches for Naturgywhich has a long-term supply contract with Russia’s Yamal LNG for about 2.5 million tons per year.
Although the Yamal LNG vessels are owned by non-Russian third parties and sail under flags such as those of the Marshall Islands, Cyprus or Hong Kong, all of them are long-term chartered to the Russian LNG exporting company.
If the volumes of LNG under this contract cannot be delivered to Spain directly, Naturgy would need to make use of its own vessels to bring the cargoes to Spain, either directly from the Yamal plant or using ship-to-ship transfers. “These options may require a significant reshuffle in your fleet schedule,” notes the energy information firm.
Despite this possible problem, Pedro Larrea, general director of energy and network management at Naturgy, said last month that, although the company has a supply contract with Russia, it has other alternatives that ensure their supply.
Domestically, even if the Government of Spain were to ban Yamal gas carriers from entering its ports, our global exposure to Russian gas and LNG exports is one of the lowest in Europe. “From the point of view of thesecurity of supply, Spain is well placedLarrea assured.
To put it in comparison, in 2021 Spain imported 2.58 million tons of LNG from the Yamal project, around 16.6% of total imports, compared to 2.53 million tons in 2020, according to company data of Kpler analysis.
Meanwhile, the United Kingdom imported 2.33 million tons, around 19% of total imports. France about 3.79 million tons (27%) and its main company, TotalEnergies, has a 20% stake in Yamal LNG, as well as a long-term supply agreement from the Russian facility.
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