Link Securities | The Ministry of Ecological Transition has left the control of Medgaz in the hands of Sonatrach (51%) and Naturgy and Blackrock (49%). The submarine pipeline is the main entry point of natural gas into Spain until 2031.
On July 5th, the fourth vice-president and Minister for Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, agreed to grant an exemption to the holders of the pipeline which frees them from the obligation of giving access to third parties. In exchange, they are merely obliged to hand over the spare capacity in a transparent, objective and non-discriminatory way.
In practice, this measure means that both gas companies can contract the capacity which they consider adequate, only allowing access to other firms if there is availability. As part of the government’s decision it was taken as read that the Magreb gas pipeline would remain operational, as well as the regasification plants. And, therefore, this measure would not create problems for competition or for the guarantee of supply. In fact, the CNMC verified this in its May 2021 analysis.
