Spain, Europe’s biggest buyer of Russian liquefied natural gas, is urging importers not to sign new contracts with Moscow as it seeks to cut revenues for the Kremlin’s war machine.
LNG importers in Spain received a letter from the government asking the companies not to sign up for new purchases from Russia, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The Spanish government’s request is not binding since there are no sanctions, and it only refers to new contracts, according to the people, who declined to be named.
Gas flows through Europe’s pipelines from Russia have fallen to record lows since the invasion of Ukraine last year. But to make up the shortfall, LNG shipments around the world have surged, including from Russia.
Spain has almost doubled its imports of Russian LNG since the outbreak of war, underscoring how dependent Europe still is on Moscow.
Naturgy Energy Group SA, Repsol SA, TotalEnergies SE, Axpo Holding AG, Pavilion Energy, Enagás SA, Met Energy, Enet Energy, Energias de Portugal SA, Compañía Española de Petroleos SA and BP Gas & Power Iberia received a letter on 14 March. by the vice-president of the government Teresa Ribera, responsible for Spain’s energy policy.
The letter, seen by Bloomberg News, does not explicitly mention specific contracts, but instead makes a general request to “intensify the diversification of liquefied natural gas supplies and dispense with those from Russia.” Ribera confirmed in an emailed response to questions that he sent the letter 10 days ago and several companies responded.
Axpo, Repsol and Enagás responded to the notification saying they do not buy LNG from Russia, according to a ministry spokesman.
“We can confirm that Axpo has not brought any cargo of Russian LNG to Spain since the start of the war in Ukraine,” a company spokesman said.
The European Union’s energy chief, Kadri Simson, earlier this month called for the shipments to be halted, saying companies should not renew long-term contracts after current ones end. He did not announce any specific measures.
Spain is the EU’s top buyer of Russian LNG so far this year, Bloomberg ship tracking data show. The country was forced to seek additional purchases last year after shipments from Algeria’s gas supplier declined following a diplomatic spat between the two nations.
Spain only receives Russian gas as LNG, as its utility Naturgy Energy Group SA has a 20-year contract to buy the fuel from Yamal LNG in the Arctic until 2038. The company declined to comment.
In January, the German government said it wanted to curb imports of Russian liquefied natural gas, without specifying how it would do so. So far, the EU has stopped short of discussing any regional bans.
(with Alonso Soto)
Image by Lurii Garmash via iStock
