Bilbao LNG Terminal
| Part of the Global Gas Infrastructure Tracker, a Global Energy Monitor project. |
Bilbao LNG Terminal, also known as Bahia de Bizkaia Gas Terminal, is an operating LNG import terminal in Spain.
Location
Table 1: Location details
| Name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Bilbao LNG Terminal | Port of Bilbao, Zierbena, Biscay, Spain[1] | 43.3612, -3.09473 (exact) |
The map below shows the exact location of the terminal:
Project Details
Table 2: Infrastructure details
| Name | Facility type | Status | Capacity | Total terminal capacity | Offshore | Associated infrastructure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bilbao LNG Terminal | import[1][2] | operating[3] | 5.1 mtpa[2] | 5.1 mtpa | False | – |
Table 3: Cost
| Name | Facility type | Cost | Total known terminal costs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bilbao LNG Terminal | import[1][2] | – | – |
Financing
No financing data available.
Table 4: Project timeline
| Name | Facility type | Status | Proposal year | FID year | Construction year | Operating year | Inactive year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bilbao LNG Terminal | import[1][2] | operating[3] | – | – | – | 2003[3] | – |
Ownership
Table 5: Ownership
| Name | Facility type | Status | Owners | Parent companies | Operator |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bilbao LNG Terminal | import[1][2] | operating[3] | Enagás SA [50%]; Basque Energy Board (EVE) [50%][4][4] | Basque Energy Board (EVE) [50.0%]; Enagás SA [50.0%] | Bahia de Bizkaia Gas[3] |
Background
Bilbao LNG Terminal is an LNG terminal in Biscay, Spain that was commissioned in 2003.[5] The project cost €264 million and was constructed in 30 months under a turnkey engineering, procurement, and construction contract by the Technigaz, Initec and Sofregaz consortium.[6] It features three LNG storage tanks, each with a capacity of 150,000 m3, four 200,000 Nm3 seawater vaporizers that connect to the grid and an 800 MW natural gas combined cycle power station, facilities for unloading LNG carriers of up to 270,000m3, tank trunk loading stations that can load 15 trucks per day, and ancillary systems.[7]
The Bilbao complex is one of Spain's busiest LNG terminals, occasionally operating at near 100% capacity.[8] In 2019, Bilbao operated at 76% of its capacity on an annualized basis, ranking far ahead of every other LNG terminal in Spain; by contrast, the second-place Huelva LNG Terminal operated at 38%.[9] On average, Spain's six active LNG terminals operate at around 25% of capacity.[8]
Opposition
Opposition groups have cited the low utilization rates among Spain's LNG terminals to call into question the necessity of such extensive LNG infrastructure. According to Food and Water Europe in 2019 (prior to the re-opening of El Musel LNG Terminal), "Since 2008, all LNG terminals (except for Mugardos) have been expanded and the total regasification capacity has increased by 8%, despite a decline in gas demand...even though the utilisation rate of Spain’s LNG regasification capacity was at only ~23% on average between January 2012 and March 2019, same as the low EU average during the same time period! The need to have so much LNG regasification capacity is questionable and best illustrated with the El Musel LNG Terminal (7bcm/y and a 300,000m³ storage capacity) which was completed in 2012 and then directly put into 'hibernation', 'until demand picks up'. The terminal has not been used since then. Despite large underutilization, Spain was the 5th biggest LNG importer with the 5th biggest liquefaction capacities worldwide in 2018, and for both cases number 1 in Europe (followed by France). Since at least 2016, Spain repeatedly imported cargoes of fracked US gas through its LNG terminals."[10]
In 2023, after Spain had expanded its import capacity by re-opening El Musel LNG Terminal, Food and Water Europe found that Spain had the third-lowest import terminal utilization rate in the EU at just 42% (excluding El Musel LNG Terminal, for which there was not yet data).[11]
Articles and Resources
Additional data
To access additional data, including an interactive map of LNG terminals, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Gas Infrastructure Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 (PDF) https://www.kslaw.com/attachments/000/006/010/original/LNG_in_Europe_2018_-_An_Overview_of_LNG_Import_Terminals_in_Europe.pdf?1530031152.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 (PDF) https://giignl.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/GIIGNL-2024-Annual-Report-1.pdf.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 (PDF) https://giignl.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/GIIGNL-Annual-Report-2025.pdf.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 4.0 4.1 https://www.igu.org/publications-page.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ Bilbao LNG Terminal, GEO, accessed April 2017
- ↑ Bahia de Bizkaia Regasification Plant, Bilbao, Spain, Hydrocarbons Technology, accessed September 2017
- ↑ Our plant, Bahia de Bizkaia, accessed January 2021
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "La regasificadora de Sagunto alcanza un mínimo de utilización del 0% tras una inversión de 500 millones". El Diario. December 25, 2018.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "La terminal de GNL de Mugardos es la tercera más utilizada del sistema español en 2019 | Revista Ingeniería Naval". Sector Marítimo. January 17, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Spain Food and Water Europe, accessed December 6, 2019
- ↑ "2023 EU LNG Terminal Utilization Rates Were Below 60%". Food & Water Action Europe. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
