Procurement cost of natural gas in Spain 2023, by month

Procurement prices of natural gas in Spain have been on a mostly downward trend throughout the first half of 2023. Prior to this, natural gas procurement prices in the Mediterranean country experienced a great increase between 2021 and 2022. In the latter year, the average natural gas procurement price amounted to roughly 60 euros per megawatt-hours, peaking at 80.58 euros per megawatt-hours in September, and reaching a low of 42.91 euros per megawatt-hours in February. By contrast, Spain's average procurement price of natural gas in 2020 was around 13.71 euros per megawatt-hours.

Why are gas prices so high?

One main reason behind natural gas prices soaring in the last couple of years is the post-pandemic economic recovery. As coronavirus restrictions were lifted and many industrial and commercial sectors resumed activity simultaneously, there was a sudden demand for energy. This led to a global energy supply shortage, which was further aggravated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The natural gas sector in Spain

Spain has a negligible production volume of natural gas that has been on a downward trend over the past years. Meanwhile, the import volume into the Mediterranean country has seen a mostly growing tendency. Spain’s main trading partner is the Algeria, which accounts for nearly 30 percent of the overall import volume. Altogether, natural gas constitutes an important source of energy in Spain, representing over 20 percent of the primary energy consumption, and coming only second to oil.