Portugal could face LNG supply problems this winter. This is due to the possibility Nigeria to not deliver the liquefied natural gas (LNG) as agreed. European Union countries are looking for alternatives to the previous supplies of Russian gas, now under EU sanctions because of the invasion of Ukraine.
This European Union country has stocked its gas reserves at 100% of storage capacity, said Duarte Cordeiro, Portugal’s environment and energy minister. But, if Nigeria is not able to deliver the LNG quantity agreed, Portugal will have to find alternative supplies.
All European countries are looking to reserve LNG supplies alternative to Russian gas for the winter, so there is a real possibility of higher imported gas prices to be expected in near future.
Portugal hopes that European Commission is to speed up the implementation of a joint gas purchasing platform and define import prices.
The possible solutions
For now, as the minister said, Portugal is trying unilaterally to cover the country’s needs for LNG from different suppliers. Portugal is aiming to increase its energy security. The main country’s LNG suppliers are Nigeria and United States.
Nigerian gas consists of 49.5% of the country’s gas import, and one-third of overall gas import is from the United States.
Trinidad and Tobago, Algeria, Qatar, and Russia are other Portugal’s traditional suppliers, but the Russian share was only 2% last year due to the EU sanctions imposed on this country.
Both countries have a problem
At the moment, Portugal’s problem is to find a reliable supplier to cover possible shortages. This is in case if Nigeria fails to meet the agreement between the two countries. In the meantime, Portugal’s government is boosting producing electricity from renewable sources. The country already has high production from renewable.
Nigeria is fighting the problem of oil and gas theft and vandalism to pipelines. The result is the terminal at Bonny Island, owned by the producer Nigeria LNG Ltd operating at 60% capacity.