Algeria already stands as Spain’s primary supplier of natural gas through the Medgaz pipeline, a key offshore connection linking the two nations across the Mediterranean. Both sides are now working toward operating the pipeline at full capacity, a step that would translate into roughly a 10% increase in flows and further bolster gas imports. Albares held discussions in Algiers with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, along with the country’s foreign and energy ministers. The meetings came just a day after Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visited the Algerian capital with a similar objective of securing additional supplies. Highlighting Algeria’s role, Albares said, “Algeria is a reliable and consistent supplier at a time when the entire global energy market is unfortunately undergoing a profound transformation” due to the war in Iran.

Commercial terms, including pricing and contract duration, remain subject to negotiations between companies involved. Sonatrach, Algeria’s state-owned energy firm, controls a 51% stake in the Medgaz pipeline, while the remaining share is held by a joint venture between Spain’s Naturgy and the US investment firm BlackRock Inc. Spanning 210 kilometers (130 miles) offshore, the infrastructure was the first pipeline constructed between Algeria and Europe and remains central to Spain’s gas imports strategy.

Relations between the two countries had faced strain in 2022, when Algeria pushed for steep price increases during extended contract talks. The tension coincided with Spain’s closer alignment with Morocco over Western Sahara, a long-standing regional dispute. However, recent developments suggest a reset in ties. In a statement, Tebboune described the outlook for bilateral cooperation as “promising” and characterized it by “notable dynamism.” He also confirmed that Algeria has moved to reactivate the previously suspended friendship treaty with Spain, signaling improved diplomatic and energy cooperation going forward.

Enagás

“The new Enagás LNG facility is the seventh new terminal in Spain.”

Enagás is one of Spain’s principal gas transport companies and has recently been awarded a government contract to construct and operate a new regasification plant in the port of El Musel in Gijon, Northern Spain. The Spanish Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism Directorate General of Energy Policy awarded the contract to increase the gas storage capacity of the region.

The facility is expected to take three years to construct following the granting of official permits, and operations have been slated to begin in 2010-11. Enagás already runs three similar Liquid natural gas (LNG) storage and distribution plants in Barcelona, Cartagena and Huelva.

David Seaton, president of Fluor’s energy and chemicals group, commented: “The new Enagás LNG facility is the seventh new terminal in Spain in recent years and it will help to achieve the country’s goal of having reserves of at least 35 days of gas consumption. Fluor is honored that we have been chosen to participate in this important project.”

PROJECT

The capacity of the initial installation will be 300,000 cubic metres between two storage tanks and a docking terminal will handle LNG tankers with capacities of 250,000 cubic metres. The regasified send-out capacity of the first-phase terminal will be 800,000 cubic metres an hour.

“The regasified send-out capacity of the first-phase terminal will be 800,000 cubic metres an hour.”

The second phase of the terminal will see an additional two storage tanks constructed so that the final capacity will be about 1,200,000 cubic metres. The second phase will be completed by 2012.

The initial investment for the plant will be about €375 million (part of Enagás’ €4.3 billion investment plan for the next four years and it will be constructed on an 18-hectare site at one of Spain’s largest ports, in Gijón in the province of Asturia. The terminal will supply the domestic gas grid and two combined cycle power stations in the Asturia province.

CONTRACTOR

The detailed engineering, procurement, construction management (EPCM) contract for the new plant was awarded to Fluor in April 2008. The EPCM contract for the project is worth about €320 million ($230 million) and the construction is scheduled to begin in late 2008-early 2009.

The engineering for the plant will be carried out from the Fluor Asturia office and the project will employ about 400–500 workers from the local area.

The refinery has a present capacity of 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) and is set to yield 220,000bpd or 11 million tonnes a year after the investment. Repsol expects the complex to become one of the world’s most modern refineries.

The refinery complex has been temporarily halted since mid-April 2009 as a result of low refining margins but the company hopes to restart it once margins begin to improve. Cartagena is the smallest of Repsol’s five refineries in Spain.
“Repsol’s board of directors has approved investment in the expansion of its refinery in Cartagena.”

The project

The project is scheduled to begin operations in 2011, and will provide employment to more than 6,000 people during construction and 700 once operational. Project development for the refinery will account for more than 3.5 million engineering hours and 20 million construction hours.

With the new unit, the refinery will have one of the world’s largest conversion capacities at about 76% and will maximise the production of clean transportation fuels.

According to the company the new hydrocracking unit will have a capacity of 2.5 million tonnes a year and the new coker unit will have a capacity of 3 million tonnes a year.

Production

Of the €10.5bn earmarked for downstream strategic lines and investment targets, about half – or €4.8bn – of the funds will be spent on the delivery of key growth projects. These include a new Bilbao coker, the expansion of Cartagena, and the conversion and expansion of Sines (petrochemicals).

The investment is part of Repsol’s four-year (2008-12) refining strategy, which includes the objectives of increasing oil distillation and conversion capacity in Spain, and helping to remedy the deficit of medium distillates in the market.

After the investment more than 50% of the complex’s production will be medium distillates, mainly diesel, which will contribute to significantly reducing the growing deficit of these products in Spain.

The Cartagena project forms part of Repsol’s programme to adapt its installations for the production of clean transportation fuels, promote the use of biofuels (biodiesel) and improve energy efficiency, safety and impact on the environment.

Economic impact

After commencing operations in 2011 the refinery will represent €115m a year in salaries. It will also account for 18% of employment in Cartagena’s industrial sector. It will share 10% of the GVA of the district and 2.5 % of GVA for the region.

Construction status

Work has already progressed to more than 20% completion. As many as 1,500 people are working at the expansion site and 2 million tonnes of earth have been moved.

As well as a new hydrogen production unit, additional plants and auxiliary installations, a Cartagena-Puertollano pipeline will ensure the smooth flow of oil. The expansion of auxiliary services at the plant site includes extra storage, interconnection and modification of transport system infrastructures.

According to estimates, 60 hectares of new surface area will be prepared for the expansion plan. Construction will involve about 35,000t of steel, more than 1,000km of pipes and 4,500km of cables. After the completion the company expects electricity consumption of 70MW against the present use of 23MW.

Down the line

In 2008 capacity at Repsol’s five refineries in Spain (Cartagena, A Coruna, Petronor, Puertollano and Tarragona) increased by 30,000bpd for the investments made by the company. This production enabled installed capacity in Spain to go from 740,000bpd to 770,000bpd. At the La Pampilla refinery in Peru, where Repsol holds a 51.03% stake and is the operator, installed capacity was 102,000bpd.

“The investment is part of Repsol’s four-year (2008-12) refining strategy.”

Repsol sold its 31.13% stake in the Brazilian refinery Manguinhos in 2008 and maintained its 30% stake in the Refap refinery, also in Brazil. In the same year the company’s downstream refineries processed 39 million tonnes of crude: slightly less than in 2007.

In January 2009 the new European specifications on automotive petrol and diesel came into force, by which the sulphur content of these fuels is reduced from 50 to 10 parts per million. Repsol’s Spanish refineries arranged the necessary investments and are ready to manufacture in accordance with these specifications.

In order to consolidate its position in Spain, the company is carrying out an ambitious investment plan to increase refining capacity and conversion level, while also improving safety, the environment and the efficiency of its facilities.

In July 2009, Iberdrola sold its BBG stake to RREEF Infrastructure. In April 2010, Engas acquired BP’s 25% share for €65m. In September 2010, Repsol sold its entire 25% stake to Enagas (15%), RREEF (5%) and EVE (5%).

The BBG regasification plant was brought online in August 2003. Located in Zierbena, in the province of Biscay, the facility has an LNG storage capacity of up to 300 million centimetres.

The facility supplies natural gas for domestic, industrial and commercial consumption. Its main activity includes regasification of LNG brought in gas tankers. The gas produced at the facility is also used for generating electrical power at Bahia de Bizkaia Electricidad’s (BBE) 800MW plant. Both the BBE and BBG projects cost about €600m.

“The Bahia di Bizkaia facility was built in 30 months at a cost of €264m.”

The regasification facility was built in 30 months at a cost of €264m. It came into operation in August 2003, with the first gas tanker arriving on 8 August 2003. LNG is supplied by the Abu Dhabi Gas Liquefaction Company (Adgas), with BP as one of its stakeholders. Designed to operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, the facility can store 300,000 cubic metres of LNG and produce 800,000 cubic metres of gas per hour. The output is marketed by BP and Gas de Euskadi.

Design of the Bahia de Bizkaia plant

The facility sits on a 230,000 square metres site at the existing storage and import installations available for petroleum products. It consists of a boil-off system, an LNG delivery system, vaporisers and pipers. The system is equipped with a Sulzer Espana boil-off collector and compressor, and an Idesa-manufactured re-condenser. There are primary LNG pumps and natural gas burners in the LNG delivery system.

The LNG delivery system also contains two storage tanks, one inside the other, that have a capacity to store 150,000 cubic metres of LNG.

The self-contained storage tanks are designed to keep evaporation losses at less than 0.05% a day. Built completely out of 9% nickel steel, the innermost primary tank consists of an open-top cylinder, a flat metal base and a flat ceiling supported by hangers from the outer concrete tank.

The suspended ceiling provides thermal insulation. To prevent the granular perlite from entering the tank, a metal seal was formed with elongated panels placed above the top ring of the tank. The ceiling is also fitted with an aperture at the centre.

The secondary tank is formed of a metal-concrete foundation slab, a cylindrical-shaped post-tensioned concrete wall and a dome made of metal and concrete. The foundation slab and the ceiling form a single unit without connectors.

Cryogenic passive reinforcements are fitted at the ring beam inside the metal tank while the outer side of the concrete tank is fitted with standard passive reinforcements.

“The facility supplies natural gas for domestic, industrial and commercial consumption.”

The interior of the concrete tank is covered with a protective carbon steel plate lining. An insulation system that encloses the inner tank from all sides covers the inside of the outer tank.

The foundation slab of the tank sits atop a secondary base of 9% nickel steel. Between this base and the foundation slab, an insulating material (foamglass blocks) is positioned to prevent the evaporation of gas. Further insulation is provided by using expanded perlite, glass wool and fibreglass in the walls, the ceiling and the outer surface of the ceiling.

The facility also includes seawater vaporisers, a submerged combustion vaporiser, and safety and relief valves. Regulating and metering stations have been installed at the facility to direct the regasified and odourised LNG to the gas grid or to the combined cycle gas turbine plant on the site next to the regasification terminal. The facility is also equipped with smokestacks to burn production and emergency discharges.

Pipeline

The facility has two pipelines to transport LNG from ships to storage tanks. The first pipeline, measuring 42in in length, runs parallel to another pipeline that stretches 6in.

Gas is transported via these pipelines to a 36in manifold situated in the storage tank zone. To allow gas to flow through, the pipelines are fitted with bypasses.

Process technology

LNG is unloaded from the ship via three unloading arms at a rate of 12,000 cubic metres per hour. The gas is stored in storage tanks that have a design pressure of 290m barg. As the vapour return line in the storage tank is maintained at an ambient temperature to prevent the gas from heating, the gas is allowed to circulate continuously. It flows through the 40in pipeline to the loading zone from where it returns via the 6in pipeline to re-liquefaction unit.

To maintain the vapour that enters the ship below -120°, LNG is injected at the cooling unit of the return line leading to the ships. The wharf area also contains a separator tank that removes any liquid remaining downstream from the cooler.
The surplus boil-off vapours are sent from the storage tanks to the compressor via the manifold. A smokestack system installed at the facility removes the excess gas safely.

Prior to being condensed into sub-cooled LNG, the gas is compressed. LNG pumps installed in the storage tanks push the LNG to the re-condenser via the send-out manifolds. The compressed boil-off gas is then condensed in the re-liquefaction unit, using LNG from the tanks.

“The BBG facility was built by the Technigaz consortium.”

From the re-liquefaction unit, the LNG is routed to the send-out-pumps.

The send-out pumps release gas to the vapourisers via send-out manifolds at a pressure of 82barg. The vapourisers that operate at nearly 80barg, convert the LNG into gaseous form by increasing the gas temperature to 0°.

The produced natural gas is released from the vapourisers at a pressure of 72barg and 45barg, with a minimum temperature of 0°. The gas is then routed via the metering station to the natural gas grid at 72barg. Before reaching the gas grid, the gas is odourised with liquid additives such as tetrahydrothiophene. The gas meant for the power plant is preheated with seawater before passing to the regulating and metering station where its pressure is brought down from 72barg to nearly 47barg.

Contractors

The BBG plant was built under a turnkey engineering, procurement and construction contract by the Technigaz, Initec and Sofregaz consortium.