Spain imported 32.9 TWh of natural gas in March, down 5.1% from a year earlier, amid a dearth of LNG shipments from Egypt and Peru, data published late Tuesday by gas grid operator Enagas showed.
The country imported no LNG from Egypt or Peru in March, compared with volumes equating to 1.85 TWh and 1.07 TWh of natural gas, respectively, a year earlier, the Enagas data showed.
Imports from Norway tumbled 95.3% year on year to 92 GWh and imports from Qatar fell 28.3% over the same period to 3.56 TWh.
Combined LNG and pipeline imports from Algeria accounted for 42.9% of Spain's total gas imports in March, up 16.7% from March 2012, comprising 14.9 TWh via pipeline and 3.69 TWh via LNG shipments, the data showed.
Total pipeline imports were up 19% year on year to 18.4 TWh, with the largest increase in volume seen on the Medgaz pipeline, which delivered 6.4 TWh from Algeria in March, up 64% year on year. Total pipeline exports from Spain fell 34% year on year in March to 441 GWh.
In the LNG market, a total of 20 tankers unloaded LNG cargoes equating to 14.38 TWh of gas in March, down 25% year on year, Enagas said. Huelva received the most tankers, unloading three large and two medium shipments in the month.
There were three reloads during the month -- 932 GWh at Huelva, 920 GWh at Mugardos and 828 GWh at Sagunto -- for a total of 2.68 TWh. This compared with three reloads in March 2012 for a total of 2.01 TWh, the data showed. The throughput of natural gas from LNG terminals into the national system in March was down 19% year on year to 12.87 TWh.
The amount of extractable gas in storage at end-March was up 21.9% year on year at 20.2 TWh, meaning storage sites were 70% full. Withdrawals were down 84% year on year at 264 GWh in March. Extraction over the October 2012-March 2013 winter season was 8.2 TWh, down 29% from the same period a year earlier.
In the power generation segment, gas overtook coal as the main back-up for the country's grid in March, with 54% of back-up power provided by gas-fired plants in the month, Enagas said. Gas contributed 6% of the country's power mix during the month, down 7 percentage points from a year earlier.
The utilization rate for combined cycle gas turbine or CCGT plants was down to 10% in March 2013, compared with 19% in March 2012, with total gas demand for power generation at 3.64 TWh, down 47% from 6.92 TWh in March 2012. CCGT demand on a daily basis was lowest on March 10, when 46 GWh was supplied into the grid.
Overall Spanish gas demand in March fell 4.4% year on year to 30.5 TWh.
