Minister Ribera sees it as possible

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MADRID“Operative in 8 to 9 months.” This is the estimate made by the Minister of Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, this Friday about the time it would take for the Catalan part of the Midcat infrastructure pending construction to be completed. The focus has once again been on this project after yesterday Thursday the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, confirmed that his government had contacted Portugal, Spain, France and the European Commission to speed up a gas pipeline that connect the Iberian Peninsula with Central Europe. The objective: to diversify the sources of gas supply and advance in the race against the clock to stop depending on Russia, the main supplier of Europe and, in particular, on countries like Germany. Sources from Enagás consulted by ARA state that it has been 8 or 9 months “since construction began”. Before that, all the bureaucratic procedure remains.

This is why, although the German chancellor did not explicitly refer to MidCat, this infrastructure comes into play in his proposal. A pipe that a few years ago was considered as an important entry route for more gas to Europe. Its layout is similar to that of the Mediterranean Corridor: a large gas pipeline that originates in Algeria – from where Spain receives a large part of the gas it imports -, enters through Almeria and connects with France passing through the Catalan Pyrenees. Currently, however, it is dying in Hostalric and, therefore, it is from this point that the works should be reactivated. It is about 200 kilometers to the French border which, according to Ribera, could be completed in less than a year. “There are many pros and what the minister proposes is ideal”, a source familiar with the project points out to the ARA, adding that this time limit would be “feasible” if “you skip all the permits, that is, you declare the project of national interest and start building immediately.”

The tempos, however, do not only depend on Spain. Ribera has remarked that the French government’s support for Midcat is “key”. In fact, until now France had shown no interest and this opens up a big unknown: what happens once the pipeline reaches the border. For now, the French part of the pipeline is not ready, although for some time there has been a working table between the companies operating and promoting the project – the Spanish Enagás and the French Teréga – and the Spanish government “to see how to speed up a first interconnection with less complexity,” acknowledged Ribera in an interview with TVE this Friday. “It doesn’t make sense for us to run a lot if it has to become a dead end on the French side,” remarked the minister.

In addition, for the Spanish government it should not only be a matter between Spain and France. In fact, after Scholz’s words, Ribera has invited the German government to participate in meetings to “pave the way” for interconnection. Now, who also plays a key role is Brussels. A project like the MidCat would not only need its approval, but for Spain it is fundamental when talking about the cost. The government of Pedro Sánchez has reiterated that the infrastructure cannot be paid for by the State alone, but that Europe must lend a helping hand in the investment. For its part, the Generalitat has also positively assessed Scholz’s words. “We were the first to ask for the relaunch of the MidCat”, said the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Victòria Alsina, in a tweet this Friday. Alsina thus highlights “the strategic importance” of Catalonia as a “bridge between the EU and the Mediterranean”.

Why now?

This gas pipeline was paralyzed in 2019, following an independent report by the European Commission commissioned by the consultancy firm Pöyry in which it was concluded that the infrastructure had a high cost and there were doubts about its long-term profitability. It is true, however, that the war in Ukraine and the fear that Russia will cut off the gas tap at any moment have led Brussels to take a good look at ideas that have been in a drawer until now.

Ribera herself has pointed to a “change in conditions”. “The MidCat declined because it was not economically viable at a time when Russian gas was much cheaper,” he acknowledged, to reiterate that he would now favor “energy security” in the European Union. What weight would it have as a source of supply for Europe? The capacity of the MidCat is 9 bcm (billion cubic meters per year) of gas. This would be added to the two gas pipelines that are in operation in Spain and which connect the Basque Country and Navarre with France (about 7 bcm per year between the two and which are currently being studied to expand by 18%, as anticipated by this newspaper). In total, it is 17 bcm, still far from the 190 bcm that came from Russia to Europe in 2020.

Useful life of 30-40 years

Beyond the economic cost, the infrastructure is surrounded by other unknowns. First, the fact that the works and the bureaucratic procedure can be accelerated. As an example, the investment proposed by Enagás for this infrastructure extends until the year 2030: 225 million euros between the period 2022 and 2026 and another 145 million euros until 2030, according to the company’s latest strategic plan.

Then, its long-term projection. These are not infrastructures designed for a specific moment but, in the words of Ribera, should have a “useful life of between 30 and 40 years”. In addition, the path that the European Union has been charting for some time is that of the energy transition, and this forces governments to think about renewable fuels when designing these infrastructures. As Ribera herself has explained, “the horizon of 2040” is to promote other energies such as green hydrogen, a technology that Spain wants to promote through European funds.

And finally, the social debate. Beyond political actors or gas operators, companies and citizens have also raised their finger when it comes to evaluating the project. On the one hand, Foment del Treball, the Catalan employers’ association, has always championed it. The president of the employers’ association, Josep Sánchez Llibre, called in February a “very serious mistake” that it did not materialize. But at the time public opinion was not in favor of it. In 2017, the MidCat Response Platform was created, made up of environmental organizations that criticized the project for its environmental impact. Some local councils joined the complaint.

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