France, Spain and Portugal to build gas pipeline for supply of American liquefied gas to EU
French, Spanish and Portuguese leaders approved the EU decision regarding the supply of liquefied gas from the United States, according to the declaration signed by the three countries after the energy interconnection summit in Lisbon on Friday, July 27.
The countries expressed interested in increasing the supply of the American liquefied gas through seven European ports. In addition, the countries insist on building a gas pipeline for gas to be transported to other European countries.
Madrid and Lisbon already began construction of a gas pipeline in the Catalonia region in the northeast of Spain to complement another gas pipeline that has already been built in the Western Pyrenees and will thus connect Spain and France. Currently, both countries are importing gas from Algeria via a gas pipeline launched in 2011, writes DW.
It is reported that all three countries consider gas as a temporary measure, as they are gradually switching from coal to renewable energy sources. According to the president of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, at the moment, 35 percent of imported gas to the European Union comes from the United States.
Earlier, in the trilateral talks on gas transit, Ukraine’s Naftogaz and Russia’s Gazprom agreed to draft a new contract for the supply of Russian gas through the territory of Ukraine after the end of the litigation. Gazprom suggests retaining transit of 10-15 billion cubic meters of gas per year through Ukraine if the Ukrainian side proves to Gazprom the economic feasibility of the new contract.