Alex Trelinski
A new gas pipeline connecting Spain and France could be ready in less than a year.
Ecological Transition Minister, Teresa Ribera, told TVE on Friday that the link could be operational in ‘eight or nine months’.
The pipeline is being seen as a major way of European countries like France and Germany countering expensive or disruptive supplies from Russia.
The line would run through the Catalunya region and the Pyrenees mountains.
Ribera described the situation as an “energy emergency” for Europe as it looks to wean itself off of Russian gas flows.
She added that the pipeline plan would need ‘very important investment’ including the financial backing of the European Union.
Ribera also mentioned two additional proposals to help Europe avoid a possible supply shortage.
The first involves upgrades to existing infrastructure in the Basque Country with Ribera claiming this would lead to a 30% rise in Spain’s gas export capacity.
The second would see improvements to the logistics of Spanish boats and ports to boost the transportation of liquid natural gas to other places around Europe.
The EU has had to increasingly depend on seaborne LNG imports from Spain and Portugal due to dwindling Russian energy supplies, but pipeline capacity from area to the rest of Europe is limited.
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