BBL: Enagás pays $75m for 20% of UK-Netherlands gas pipeline | Economie

Enagás wants to become strong in the rest of Europe. Today, Monday, the director of the Spanish Gas System announced the purchase from the German giant Uniper of 20% of the capital of BBL, the company that operates the 235-kilometer gas pipeline linking the United Kingdom with the Netherlands. The payment will be around 75 million euros, according to figures provided by the procuring entity. Harassment due to liquidity problems caused by cutting gas supplies from Russia, the German gas company He had to demand ransom money last summer And you need to make money from asset sales.

The operation, still subject to compliance with “suspended clauses typical for this type of operation” and “a preferential right for other BBL co-ownership holders,” represents, according to Enagas, another step in the main objective of its latest strategic plan: “to advance in its position as one of the major operators of To enhance the security of energy supplies in Europe,” according to the memorandum announcing the operation. It also comes at a crucial moment in the redefinition of the European energy map, in the midst of the crisis unleashed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine – with the subsequent change in gas flows – and also in the complete decarbonization of the European energy system, the goal of which is to gradually replace natural gas green hydrogen It seems essential.

After this transaction, BBL shareholders will consist of the Dutch company Gasunie (60%), the Belgian Fluxys (20%) and the Spanish Enagás (20%). “After the completion of the acquisition, three transmission system operators (TSO, National Gas Systems Operators) will be the owners of this key infrastructure in supply security in Europe,” Confirms The company is headed by Antonio Lardin.

The BBL pipeline is a 235-kilometre long infrastructure and important for Europe’s energy security. Its two-way flow flows between the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, two of the few natural gas producers in the European Union and also major consumers of this fuel. The maximum capacity of the offshore pipeline is 15 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas per year from the direct flow between the gas stations in Balgzand (Netherlands) and Bacton (in the UK) and 5 billion cubic meters per year in the reverse direction. reflects.

In addition, interconnection is included in the European Hydrogen Backbone Map – an initiative of 31 operators from 28 European countries working to enhance the EU’s future hydrogen network – and “can be adapted to transport green hydrogen by joining the points for production and consumption in the Netherlands”. and the United Kingdom,” Enagás explains in the memo sent to the National Commission of the Stock Exchange (CNMV) to inform the transaction. The Spanish company is also a major part of The future construction of the tube through which renewable hydrogen will flow between Barcelona and Marseille from 2030, at an approximate cost of €2,500 million.