The country imported no LNG from Egypt or Peru in March, compared with volumes equating to 1.85 TWh and 1.07 TWh of natural gas, respectively, a year earlier, the Enagas data showed.
Imports from Norway tumbled 95.3% year on year to 92 GWh and imports from Qatar fell 28.3% over the same period to 3.56 TWh.
Combined LNG and pipeline imports from Algeria accounted for 42.9% of Spain's total gas imports in March, up 16.7% from March 2012, comprising 14.9 TWh via pipeline and 3.69 TWh via LNG shipments, the data showed.
Total pipeline imports were up 19% year on year to 18.4 TWh, with the largest increase in volume seen on the Medgaz pipeline, which delivered 6.4 TWh from Algeria in March, up 64% year on year. Total pipeline exports from Spain fell 34% year on year in March to 441 GWh.
In the LNG market, a total of 20 tankers unloaded LNG cargoes equating to 14.38 TWh of gas in March, down 25% year on year, Enagas said. Huelva received the most tankers, unloading three large and two medium shipments in the month.
There were three reloads during the month -- 932 GWh at Huelva, 920 GWh at Mugardos and 828 GWh at Sagunto -- for a total of 2.68 TWh. This compared with three reloads in March 2012 for a total of 2.01 TWh, the data showed. The throughput of natural gas from LNG terminals into the national system in March was down 19% year on year to 12.87 TWh.
The amount of extractable gas in storage at end-March was up 21.9% year on year at 20.2 TWh, meaning storage sites were 70% full. Withdrawals were down 84% year on year at 264 GWh in March. Extraction over the October 2012-March 2013 winter season was 8.2 TWh, down 29% from the same period a year earlier.
In the power generation segment, gas overtook coal as the main back-up for the country's grid in March, with 54% of back-up power provided by gas-fired plants in the month, Enagas said. Gas contributed 6% of the country's power mix during the month, down 7 percentage points from a year earlier.
The utilization rate for combined cycle gas turbine or CCGT plants was down to 10% in March 2013, compared with 19% in March 2012, with total gas demand for power generation at 3.64 TWh, down 47% from 6.92 TWh in March 2012. CCGT demand on a daily basis was lowest on March 10, when 46 GWh was supplied into the grid.
Overall Spanish gas demand in March fell 4.4% year on year to 30.5 TWh.
