The Leviaton Advantage: Immediate Clarity on Iberian LNG Disruptions
The widespread power outage currently affecting the Iberian Peninsula (southwestern Europe) has severely disrupted critical infrastructure across Spain and Portugal. As a safety precaution, Spain has automatically shut down all of its nuclear power plants due to the blackout.
Both nations heavily rely on liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports to supply their domestic gas needs and for re-export, primarily to other European markets. Spain operates eight LNG facilities, each equipped with regasification and liquefaction capabilities, while Portugal has a single major LNG import and liquefaction facility in Sines. These facilities require substantial and continuous electrical power for essential operations, including regasification, liquefaction, and distribution into national grids. The ongoing blackout may have significantly compromised these operations.
SynMax Leviaton is closely monitoring developments and the impact on LNG import and re-export activities in these regions. Notably, as of April 28, 2025, over 11 empty vessels are currently positioned near Spain’s Huelva LNG terminal.
Among these, the LNG bunkering tanker K.LOTUS, after three days of waiting offshore, was observed moving towards the terminal earlier this morning.
However, without stable electricity in the affected regions, LNG vessels may face considerable delays, as unloading and loading operations cannot be reliably performed. If the outage persists, increased vessel traffic and waiting times are anticipated. Apart from Huelva, no other Spanish terminal currently shows a significant number of vessels waiting offshore.
We may also see vessels currently en route to Iberian Peninsula diverting to other unaffected terminals in Europe to mitigate congestion. SynMax Leviaton will continuously monitor vessel movements and LNG terminal operations, providing comprehensive coverage as the situation evolves.
As seen on the Leviaton platform, there are currently 26 LNG vessels near Spain LNG facilities—23 empty and 3 fully loaded.
In Portugal, only one fully loaded vessel, the LNG FINIMA II [IMO 9690145], is currently docked at Sines. Its AIS data indicates it berthed today, although no draft change has been reported yet.
Comparatively, as of April 28, 2025, Spain has imported approximately 2.51 million tonnes of LNG (LNG_mt) this month, with re-export activity totaling 0.85 LNG_mt, primarily destined for European markets. In April 2024, Spain's imports were 1.17 LNG_mt, with re-exports totaling only 0.09 LNG_mt. Portugal's LNG imports for April 2025 stand at around 0.38 LNG_mt, slightly higher than last year’s figure of 0.35 LNG_mt, with no re-export activity recorded.