Spanish PVB gas prices fall in April, remaining the cheapest in Europe

Natural gas prices in Spain continue to fall, reinforcing its position as the cheapest European market. Exports to France are increasing while domestic demand is growing.

Share:

Comprehensive energy news coverage, updated nonstop

Annual subscription

8.25$/month*

*billed annually at 99$/year for the first year then 149,00$/year ​

Unlimited access • Archives included • Professional invoice

OTHER ACCESS OPTIONS

Monthly subscription

Unlimited access • Archives included

5.2$/month*
then 14.90$ per month thereafter

FREE ACCOUNT

3 articles offered per month

FREE

*Prices are excluding VAT, which may vary depending on your location or professional status

Since 2021: 35,000 articles • 150+ analyses per week

Natural gas prices on the Spanish PVB hub continued to fall in April, confirming Spain’s position as the cheapest European gas market. According to S&P Global Commodity Insights, the average PVB gas price assessed by Platts for next-day delivery was €36.46/MWh in April, down 13.2% from March.

On an annual basis, prices have fallen by 59.95 euros/MWh compared to April 2022. For delivery the following month, the average price assessed by Platts was 36.697 euros/MWh in April, down 13.4% from March and 58.2% from April 2022.

Increase in exports

These price cuts maintain Spain as the cheapest natural gas hub in Europe, with all other markets having average prices above 40 euros/MWh for next-day and next-month delivery in April. Pipeline gas exports from Spain increased significantly in April, reaching 664 million cubic meters, up 56% from the previous month and 41% year-on-year.

Deliveries to France were particularly high due to the strikes that affected French LNG terminals. Spain exported 586 million cubic meters of gas to France in April, an increase of more than 90% compared to March and 27% compared to April 2022. In contrast, exports to Portugal were low, reaching only 2 million cubic meters.

Domestic demand increases slightly

Spanish end-user demand, including gas demand for heating and power generation, rose 12% year-on-year to 2.1 billion cubic meters in April. However, gas demand for heating alone was down 20% from the previous month and 13% year-over-year. Gas injections into storage facilities have increased significantly, reaching 235 million cubic meters in April, compared to only 9 million cubic meters in March and 159 million cubic meters in April 2022.

Overall, gas demand in Spain remained stable, reaching 3 billion cubic meters in April, slightly higher than March 2023 and slightly lower than April 2022. Gas supplies were slightly above demand, totaling 3.1 billion cubic meters in April, similar to March 2023 and April 2022. Gas withdrawals from storage facilities decreased to 7 million cubic meters in April, compared to 103 million cubic meters the previous month.

Spanish gas reserves were 89.6% full at the end of April, the third highest level among EU countries, after Portugal and Sweden. There were no pipeline imports from France to Spain in April, in line with the previous year’s data.

McDermott has signed a contract amendment with Golden Pass LNG Terminal to complete Trains 2 and 3 of the liquefied natural gas export terminal in Texas, continuing its role as lead partner on the project.
Exxon Mobil will acquire a 40% stake in the Bahia pipeline and co-finance its expansion to transport up to 1 million barrels per day of natural gas liquids from the Permian Basin.
The German state is multiplying LNG infrastructure projects in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea to secure supplies, with five floating terminals under public supervision under development.
Aramco has signed 17 new memoranda of understanding with U.S. companies, covering LNG, advanced materials and financial services, with a potential value exceeding $30 billion.
The Slovak government is reviewing a potential lawsuit against the European Commission following its decision to end Russian gas deliveries by 2028, citing serious economic harm to the country.
The European Union is extending its gas storage regime, keeping a legal 90% target but widening national leeway on timing and filling volumes to reduce the price pressure from mandatory obligations.
The Mozambican government has initiated a review of the expenses incurred during the five-year suspension of TotalEnergies' gas project, halted due to an armed insurgency in the country’s north.
The number of active drilling rigs in the continental United States continues to decline while oil and natural gas production reaches historic levels, driven by operational efficiency gains.
Shell sells a 50% stake in Tobermory West of Shetland to Ithaca Energy, while retaining operatorship, reinforcing a partnership already tested on Tornado, amid high fiscal pressure and regulatory uncertainty in the North Sea.
Russian company Novatek applied major discounts on its liquefied natural gas cargoes to attract Chinese buyers, reviving sales from the Arctic LNG 2 project under Western sanctions.
A first vessel chartered by a Ukrainian trader delivered American liquefied gas to Lithuania, marking the opening of a new maritime supply route ahead of the winter season.
A German NGO has filed in France a complaint against TotalEnergies for alleged war crimes complicity around Mozambique LNG, just as the country seeks to restart this key gas project without any judicial decision yet on the substance.
Hut 8 transfers four natural gas power plants to TransAlta following a turnaround plan and five-year capacity contracts secured in Ontario.
By selling its US subsidiary TVL LLC, active in the Haynesville and Cotton Valley formations in Louisiana, to Grayrock Energy for $255mn, Tokyo Gas pursues a targeted rotation of its upstream assets while strengthening, through TG Natural Resources, its exposure to major US gas hubs supporting its LNG value chain.
TotalEnergies acquires 50% of a flexible power generation portfolio from EPH, reinforcing its gas-to-power strategy in Europe through a €10.6bn joint venture.
The Essington-1 well identified significant hydrocarbon columns in the Otway Basin, strengthening investment prospects for the partners in the drilling programme.
New Delhi secures 2.2 million tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas annually from the United States, a state-funded commitment amid American sanctions and shifting supply strategies.
INNIO and Clarke Energy are building a 450 MW gas engine power plant in Thurrock to stabilise the electricity grid in southeast England and supply nearly one million households.
Aramco and Yokogawa have completed the deployment of autonomous artificial intelligence agents in the gas processing unit of Fadhili, reducing energy and chemical consumption while limiting human intervention.
S‑Fuelcell is accelerating the launch of its GFOS platform to provide autonomous power to AI data centres facing grid saturation and a continuous rise in energy demand.

All the latest energy news, all the time

Annual subscription

8.25$/month*

*billed annually at 99$/year for the first year then 149,00$/year ​

Unlimited access - Archives included - Pro invoice

Monthly subscription

Unlimited access • Archives included

5.2$/month*
then 14.90$ per month thereafter

*Prices shown are exclusive of VAT, which may vary according to your location or professional status.

Since 2021: 30,000 articles - +150 analyses/week.