Spain, France, and Portugal conclude deal over new gas route

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
20 Oct 2022 18:03
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The new project titled the "Green Energy Corridor" will replace an earlier one called the "MIDCAT" project and will deliver gas supplies originating from the Iberian Peninsula to the European continent.

Spain, France, and Portugal agree on gas pipeline link

The Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sanchez, said on Thursday that Spain, France, and Portugal agreed to build a natural gas pipeline connecting the Iberian peninsula to the rest of Europe.

The new project titled the "Green Energy Corridor" will replace an earlier one called the "MIDCAT" project.

The MIDCAT project emerged a decade ago and was then abandoned in 2019 as it not only encountered several regulatory and funding issues but was also contested by France for a very long time.

Joint statement by 🇫🇷🇪🇸🇵🇹 on energy interconnections. They "decided to abandonc the #Midcat project and instead create, as a matter of priority, a Green Energy Corridor" #EUCO pic.twitter.com/bOH2cHotuJ
— Damien Genicot (@GenicotD) October 20, 2022

#EUCO | First day of the @EUCouncil meeting. 🇵🇹 Prime Minister @antoniocostapm, referring to the deal agreed today between 🇵🇹🇪🇸🇫🇷 on the Green Energy Corridor. #Energy pic.twitter.com/DBnNpdqmJr
— Portugal na UE 🇵🇹🇪🇺 (@RPPortugalUE) October 20, 2022

On October 12, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia will stick to common sense and only supply energy to countries that have not introduced price caps on energy prices and will stop energy exports to countries with price caps.

Since then, countries of the EU have begun looking for alternatives to Russian gas, with the consideration that a route from Spain will supply much to the rest of the continent.

In light of the current energy crisis, Spain has fervently been pushing for the revival of the project.

Germany is supporting the initiative as it is unsure of when deliveries of Russian gas are ever set to be resumed.

"We have agreed to... a new project to be called the Green Energy Corridor to link the Iberian peninsula to France and therefore to the European energy market between Barcelona and Marseille," Sanchez explained upon his arrival for an EU summit on the energy crisis.

Sanchez added that the gas link would move hydrogen and gas "during a transition period needed by the European energy market."

Despite that Spain possesses six liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities for refining gas that arrives by sea from the Iberian peninsula, which would facilitate the EU to boost its imports, it has only two low-capacity pipelines reaching France's gas hub that connects to the rest of the continent.

Last August, French President Emmanuel Macron visited Algeria in a bid to boost ties with the North African country, Africa's top gas exporter.

On September 5, Charles Michel, the President of the European Council, said that Algeria is a "reliable" energy supplier during a visit to Algiers as Europe struggles with an energy crisis.

On October 11, European Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson announced that Algeria might access new gas resources with the support of European companies in order to enhance gas output and export more fuel to the EU.