The importance of natural gas in the Basque Country’s energy mix and proposed new horizons in maritime transport were two of the main points in the speech by the director general of the Basque Energy Agency (EVE), Iñigo Ansola.
As the director general of the EVE outlined, “Gas is one of the main energy sources of the Basque Autonomous Region as, after all, it accounts for 35% of consumption and this is expected to increase to 42% by 2030”. Likewise, the transport sector is consolidating itself as one of the largest consumers as, for the second year running, it holds second place behind industry in energy consumption.
This reality, in addition to needs arising from the progressive decarbonisation of energy consumption, makes gas a very interesting energy resource accompanying this transition. Similarly, maritime transport is not immune to this evolution. From the EVE, as Iñigo Ansola explained, we are committed to bringing all these factors together and opting for gas as the energy source for maritime transport with the commissioning of the ship Oizmendi – which last year carried out the first ship-to-ship operation outside the North Sea (ship-to-ship gas refuelling), which has led to the adaptation of the jetties of Bahía de Bizkaia Gas (BBG) in order to supply gas-powered ships.
Faced with the reality of increasing demand for gas, Iñigo Ansola highlighted the importance of continuing with the commitment to own resources which, according to all indicators, do exist in the Basque Country, so as to reduce overall dependence on imported gas.
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