Spanish system operator Enagas' supplies of LNG as a marine bunkering fuel from its terminals in Spain and LNG bunkering vessels (LNGBVs) rose to a record high last year, as more capacity and stronger demand boosted throughput.
Enagas supplied about 1.4TWh of LNG as a bunkering fuel in 2023, much more than the 400GWh supplied in 2022 and 300GWh in 2021, according to the firm.
Enagas has expanded its LNG bunkering capacity in recent years, while the cost of LNG as a marine fuel has held much lower than competing alternatives such as marine gas oil (MGO) over the past year, supporting demand for LNG bunkering operations.
The firm fully owns three LNG import terminals in Spain that offer LNG bunkering services — the Barcelona, Huelva and the Cartagena facilities. Barcelona offers pipe-to-ship (PTS) and ship-to-ship (STS) services, Huelva offers STS services and will soon offer PTS services, while Cartagena offers PTS operations, while Enagas plans to add STS services at the port too, the firm said. Enagas subsidiary Scale Gas co-owns two LNGBVs — the 5,000m³ Haugesund Knutsen in Barcelona with Norwegian firm Knutsen, and the 12,000m³ Levante LNG in Huelva, alongside UK supplier Peninsula.
Most of the LNG bunkering operations in Spain are carried out in Barcelona, where bunkering volumes similarly rose to an all-time high last year, according to the port authority. The increase to 143,000 m³ of LNG as a bunker fuel across 199 deliveries last year, more than double the previous record posted in 2021 of 65,051m³, was linked largely to the commissioning of the Haugesund Knutsen in 2023.
Enagas partially owns other assets that can offer truck-to-ship operations at the El Musel import terminal and the Sagunto and Bilbao LNG terminals. Bilbao can also provide PTS operations.
Spain eyes growth
Spain aims to build on its presence in the LNG bunkering market, with several planned LNG bunkering projects adding to its already-large LNG import and storage capacity.
Utility Endesa recently advanced plans that were initially announced in 2021 to build a small LNG terminal with 5,000m³ of LNG storage capacity in the Spanish exclave of Melilla in north Africa. Endesa earlier this month requested permits for the project from the local government.
Endesa also has plans for an LNG bunkering project in the port of Algeciras, with an LNG plant comprising four tanks with a combined capacity of 4,000m³. The firm had intended to start offering services earlier this year, but this appears to have been delayed.
Scale Gas also aims to launch an LNGBV in the Canary Islands that it is building at present and aims to start operating in 2026. This LNGBV will also offer bio-LNG bunkering operations.
