Esta realidad se traduce en altos peajes, los más altos de Europa, que elevan los costes energéticos y nos ponen en desventaja frente a nuestros competidores industriales directos. A modo de ejemplo, pagamos por peajes el doble que en Francia, el triple que en Italia y hasta cinco o seis veces lo que en Alemania o Bélgica. Parece que no tiene mucho sentido que la industria se vea penalizada por una decisión en la que no fue consultada y de la que tampoco se beneficia, sino todo lo contrario. Sin embargo, la realidad es que el mercado del gas es marcadamente “industrial”. De hecho, la industria consume -de forma estable y regular y en crecimiento los últimos años-, el 60% de todo el gas de España. Digamos que es una gran base para el sistema gasista, mientras que los ciclos combinados únicamente suponen el 20% del consumo. España soporta un exceso de regasificación, sin embargo las dos conexiones existentes con Francia, a través de Navarra y del País Vasco, podrían suministrar gas regasificado o gas argelino desde España hacia Europa. Estos tubos suministran ya un 20% del gas a España proveniente, sin duda, de Rusia, Noruega, Holanda y también de alguna planta de regasificación del centro de Europa. Se supone que este gas está a mejor precio que el que viene por tubo de Argelia o el que se descarga por los puertos de entrada de GNL. Asimismo, tanto la Unión Europea como España están interesadas en completar la conexión MidCat, la interconexión con Francia, que doblaría la capacidad existente de 7,3 bcm. El tubo ya llega a unos 150 km de la frontera con el país galo y le faltan unos 300 km en el sur de Francia para unirse al gran ramal francés This reality translates into high tolls, the highest in Europe, that raise energy costs and place Spain at a disadvantage compared to her direct industrial competitors. For example, our tolls are twice those of France, three times higher than Italy and up to five or six times the tariffs of Germany and Belgium. It does not make much sense to penalise an industry for a decision regarding which it was not consulted nor one from which it benefits. Quite the contrary. The truth is that the gas market is clearly “industrial”. In fact, industry, which has been growing in recent years, is a stable and regular consumer of 60% of all the country’s gas, providing a great basis for the gas system, while combined cycles account for just 20% of consumption. Spain has a regasification surplus, however the two existing connections with France, running through Navarra and the Basque Country, could supply regasified gas or Algerian gas from Spain to Europe. These pipelines already supply 20% of Spain’s gas from originating from Russia, Norway and the Netherlands in addition to some regasification plants in Central Europe. And this gas is better priced than that piped from Algeria or unloaded at the LNG ports of entry. Similarly, both the European Union and Spain are interested in completing the MidCat connection, the interconnection with France that would double existing capacity to 7.3 bcm. The pipeline already comes to around 150km from the French border and there is a 300-km stretch missing in the south of France to link up with the huge north-south branch that runs through Lyon to connect with the major European pipelines. This pipeline would improve the sale and purchase options for gas for and from Central Europe and would undoubtedly enhance the competitiveness of our market. Furthermore, everyone appears to be in agreement that having a key point of entry in Spain for gas for Europe would give the centre of the continent a secure gas supply. The original project signed in 2015 by the premiers of Spain, France and European Union, has now ground to a halt, supposedly, in France. Obstacles could be due to the fact that France is unwilling to pay for a pipeline that it obviously does not need for its own consumption and that leaves its market exposed to the threat of our regasification potential. Spain would then become its clear and direct competitor. EL GAS Y LA COMPETITIVIDAD DE LA INDUSTRIA ESPAÑOLA En cuanto al gas, España tiene particularidades que la diferencian de los mercados centroeuropeos. La primera es que somos lo más parecido a una isla energética. La mitad del mercado español es alimentado por tubo desde Argelia y Francia. Para el resto, contamos con siete instalaciones de regasificación -unas estructuras decididas en sumomento desde una óptica excesivamente optimista-, que están realmente infrautilizadas y que, sin duda, no necesitamos ya que fueron concebidas en función de unos ciclos combinados que ahora no están funcionando. GAS AND COMPETITIVENESS IN SPANISH INDUSTRY As regards gas, Spain has unique features that set it apart from Central Europeanmarkets. The first is thatwe are a country that most resembles an energy island. Half the Spanishmarket is supplied via pipelines fromAlgeria and France. For the remainder,we have seven regasification installations - structures that in their daywere designed from an excessively optimistic standpoint - that are truly underutilised and no longer required as theywere conceived with combined cycles inmind that are no longer operational. El Gas Natural y sus Aplicaciones | Natural Gas and its Applications FuturEnergy | Mayo May 2016 www.futurenergyweb.es 97
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