Definition
LNG is liquefied natural gas: natural gas cooled to about 162 degrees below zero until it becomes liquid, which reduces its volume some six hundred times and allows it to be carried on LNG carriers.
On arrival in port, LNG is unloaded at a regasification plant, which returns it to its gaseous state and injects it into the pipeline network. Spain is the European country with the most plants of this kind, spread along its Mediterranean, Atlantic and Cantabrian coasts, and part of the gas it receives is reloaded for other countries.
LNG is also used as a marine fuel, because it emits less sulphur and fewer particulates than fuel oil. In port statistics it appears as natural gas within liquid bulk.
The figure · August 2026
Year to date · January–August 2026
10.5 million tonnes
August 2026 only
1.21 million tonnes
Full year 2025
16.9 million tonnes
Share of all cargo
2.9%
Natural gas traffic in Spanish ports in 2026
Spanish ports handled 10.5 million tonnes of natural gas in the year to August 2026, 7.6% less than in the same period of 2025. In August alone, the figure was 1.21 million tonnes, 4.2% less than in August 2025.
The full ranking, the trend and the table are in the indicator Natural gas traffic in Spanish ports. To explore the data in detail, see PortStats · cargo by commodity, annual series.