Natural gas in Spain: beginnings and expansion

Abstract

This paper seeks to analyse the process of implementation and development of the natural gas industry in Spain, highlighting its particularities with respect to other European countries. It examines how historical, political and economic factors influenced the configuration of this sector, especially from the post-war period until the consolidation of key infrastructures and companies. The study is mainly based on documentary analysis, with special attention to the Libro de Actas of the Board of Directors of Catalana de Gas (1960-1970), as well as a bibliographical review of relevant works published in recent decades. A historical approach is used that combines statistics, political decisions, business evolution and international relations. Thus, four distinctive features of the Spanish case are identified: the late introduction of natural gas, the hegemony of private initiative, the initial centrality of Catalonia and the rapid expansion of infrastructures. State intervention was intense in the early years through companies such as ENCASO and REPESA, favouring liquefied petroleum gases (LPG) over piped natural gas. From 1965, with the arrival of Algerian gas, the transition to natural gas began, led by Catalana de Gas and later reinforced by the creation of Gas Natural, S.A. and Enagás. All in all, the Spanish natural gas development model was built on a hybrid basis of state intervention and private initiative. Energy geopolitics, the lack of own resources and territorial fragmentation conditioned its evolution, marking a singular trajectory compared to its European counterparts.