Gas Natural 1Q Profits Down

Spanish and Latin American utility and LNG trader Gas Natural has released 1Q profits of €298mn, 9.4% lower than in 1Q 2016, but still has ongoing arbitration disputes with the Colombian and Egyptian authorities.

They would have been only 8.3% lower, had the company not had to deconsolidate its Electrocaribe subsidiary, which was expropriated by the Colombian government – subsequently referred to international arbitration by GN.

Announcing results May 12, GN said its gas distribution sales in Spain were 7.2% higher year on year at 56.7 TWh in 1Q2017 owing to an unusually cold start of the winter, with demand up from all sectors: residential up 2%, and industry up 10%.

GN’s wholesale gas sales were up 11% at 84.4 TWh (7.85bn m³) year on year, with those in Spain up 8% at 40.5 TWh, rest of Europe flat at 20.4 TWh, and international LNG sales up 30% at 23.5 TWh.

GN's Durango CCGT, Mexico

(Credit: Gas Natural)

UFG supplies up, but Damietta still at halt

Volumes supplied to Spain by Union Fenosa Gas (a 50-50 joint venture with Eni) were 11.5 TWh at 100% equity, compared to 8.7 TWh in 1Q 2016. UFG has equity LNG interests in Oman and at Egypt’s Damietta export terminal, but has an unresolved dispute with Cairo over the latter.

A Union Fenosa Gas spokesman told NGW that exports from the Damietta liquefaction complex, 80%-owned by UFG, had not resumed: "Unfortunately there has not been any change in the operational status of the plant; with regard to the arbitration process, it is still ongoing."

UFG appointed Daniele De Giovanni, formerly head of Eni's 5 GW generation subsidiary Enipower, as its new managing director in January 2017. He was head of Italian PM Romano Prodi's private office in 2006-08 and has worked for Alitalia, Telecom Italia, and British Telecom.

Mark Smedley