By Pietro Lombardi
MADRID (Reuters) - Enagas has awarded has awarded 2,231 slots, about half of the total capacity, for vessels to unload liquefied natural gas (LNG) at six of Spain's terminals over the next 15 years, according to data the company provided to Reuters.
Spain is a key European hub for LNG imports, thanks to its large fleet of regasification terminals.
Spanish plants held almost a third of the LNG stored in Europe as of Jan. 14, data from Gas Infrastructure Europe showed.
Enagas said the slots awarded represent nearly 100% of the slots it has offered so far.
The company last auctioned slots in July 2023 when it said it received an average of four bids for each slot on offer.
The remaining capacity is to be awarded in future auctions.
Enagas said that 588 slots were also booked to allow smaller vessels to load LNG stored at the terminals.
The data did not include the El Musel plant, which began operating last summer under a special regime under which it provides gas loading, storage and reloading services but does not supply gas to Spain's network.
Energy firm Endesa won a contract to use it to unload, store and reload LNG through 2026.