Spain increases supplies of Russian gas
In the European Union, Spain has become the main buyer of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia.
The Russian Ambassador to Spain Yuri Klimenko stated this, the PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“Despite calls from the Spanish authorities to gradually reduce and eventually abandon the purchase of our energy resources, Madrid continues to increase imports of Russian gas. Thus, in January–August 2023, 53,2 thousand GWh of our LNG was exported here, which is 38,5% more than during the same period in 2022 (32,7 thousand).
As a result, Russia has firmly established itself in third place in the list of major suppliers (19,7% of total volume; 2021% in 8,9), and Spain has become Europe's largest buyer of domestic LNG. It is economically unprofitable for Madrid to refuse the existing large long-term contract,” the diplomat said in an interview with Izvestia.
At the same time, he hopes that in Spain, over time, “the logic of mutually beneficial constructive cooperation” with Russia will prevail.
He was asked whether Spain would be able to refuse Russian gas altogether.
“To begin with, this would be a big blow for the Spanish economy, while Russia has clearly demonstrated to the whole world its ability to successfully reorient its export policy in the shortest possible time, not just without losses, but often quite profitably. Therefore, the risks here are not comparable.
But if we reflect on the given topic, then, on the one hand, Spain is known as one of the world leaders in the development of renewable energy sources, the share of which in the country’s energy balance is growing rapidly every year. In 2022, it reached a record 42,5%. In addition, in line with the overall EU guidelines, the authorities are taking measures to diversify energy suppliers. For example, gas is purchased from 19 countries.
On the other hand, given the significant share of Russian energy resources (LNG and nuclear fuel) in the total volume of Spanish imports, a scenario with a complete abandonment of them in the short term seems unlikely and, at the very least, extremely logistically difficult and costly,” Klimenko concluded.
If you find an error, please select a piece of text and press Ctrl + Enter.
Thank you!
Now the editors are aware.