Yemisi Izuora
Portugal’s energy company Galp says it is buying gas elsewhere to meet its contractual obligations as Nigerian gas supply issues lingers.
The decision is not to allow the supply gap significantly impact energy bills and supplies.
On Monday, Galp admitted the cancellation of another Liquified Natural Gas, LNG delivery from Nigeria, scheduled for the end of October, but said it had already ensured the acquisition of this volume in the market and did not foresee any other cancellations.
“What is important to clarify is that Galp will have to buy gas on the market, naturally, to satisfy its customers and its legal responsibilities with the regulated tariff,” Environment and Climate Action Minister Duarte Cordeiro said.
Speaking to Portuguese journalists in Luxembourg at the end of a meeting of EU energy ministers, Cordiero said Europe is “in a phase in which the price of gas has fallen because many countries have their storage filled and, therefore, there is more supply than demand, so the price has been falling.”
“I doubt the impact will be very significant because gas prices are much lower than they were and have been very low in recent days,” the minister said when asked about possible impacts on customers’ bills.
In addition, the minister stressed that Portugal had adopted a “series of measures to prepare for winter,” such as betting on gas storage, renewable energy and campaigns to encourage savings in consumption.
“Measures that, as a whole, protect us,” he said, adding reserves are at the level of a month and a half.
In mid-October, it was announced that Nigeria LNG Limited had warned Galp of “a substantial reduction in production and supply of liquid natural gas” due to rains and floods in West and Central Africa, which could put supply in Portugal at risk, according to a note sent by the Portuguese company to the Securities and Exchange Commission.