Enagás submits the Muskiz-Arrigorriaga pipeline in Bizkaia for public consultation

The Industry and Energy Area of the Government Sub-delegation in Bizkaia has submitted for urgent public information the request for administrative authorization, approval of the execution project, and recognition of public utility for the Muskiz-Arrigorriaga hydrogen pipeline, a segment of project PCI 9.1.3 promoted by Enagás Infraestructuras de Hidrógeno, S.L.U. The announcement, which incorporates the environmental impact study and the list of affected assets and rights, is published in the Official State Gazette (Boletín Oficial del Estado) of September 29, 2026 (reference BOE-B-2026-31549). Interested parties have fifteen days to examine the file and submit allegations.

The processing is agreed upon under Regulation (EU) 2022/869, Law 34/1998 of the Hydrocarbons sector, and Royal Decree 1434/2002, and in accordance with Law 21/2013 on Environmental Assessment. The resolution corresponds to the Directorate General for Energy Policy and Mines of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, while the environmental impact statement will be issued by the Directorate General for Environmental Quality and Assessment of the same ministry. The processing body is the Industry and Energy Area of the Government Sub-delegation in Bizkaia.

The announcement applies the urgent processing provided for in Article 33 of Law 39/2015, such that the deadlines of the ordinary procedure are reduced by half. The file includes parcel maps and the specific and individualized list of affected assets and rights.

A 38-kilometer pipeline to transport hydrogen

The project corresponds to the Muskiz-Arrigorriaga segment of the Reocín-Arrigorriaga section, conceived as a pipeline for the transport of hydrogen. It starts near position HCC-010, on the border between Cantabria and Bizkaia, within the municipality of Muskiz, and ends at position HCC-007, in Arrigorriaga, the point from which the future Arrigorriaga-Haro section will begin.

The infrastructure runs entirely through the Basque Country and has an approximate length of 38,411 meters, including the branch to the Port of Bilbao. It is dimensioned with hydrogen as the process fluid, with a design pressure of 100 bar, a maximum operating pressure of 94 bar and a minimum of 45 bar, a pipe diameter of 30 inches, and carbon steel with an epoxy-type internal coating. The total budget amounts to 67,995,147.00 euros.

The route crosses twelve municipalities of Bizkaia:

• Abanto y Ciervana – Abanto Zierbena
• Arrigorriaga
• Barakaldo
• Bilbao
• Ugao
• Miraballes
• Valle de Trapaga – Trapagaran
• Santurtzi
• Ortuella
• Alonsotegi
• Zierbena
• Muskiz

The planned auxiliary facilities are:

• Valve positions HCC-010 (Muskiz), HCC-009 (Zierbena), HCC-008 (Barakaldo) and HCC-007 (Arrigorriaga).
• Four low-voltage electrical connections (400 V) connected to the Iberdrola network, sized for 15.1 kW each.
• Communications system via 64FO cable and a supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system.
• Impressed current cathodic protection stations with their anodic beds.

Impact on estates and owners

The project includes parcel maps and the specific and individualized list of affected assets and rights, which extends to private, provincial (foral), and municipal estates. The planned impacts are:

• Full ownership occupation of the land for fixed surface installations.
• Temporary occupation of the land necessary for the execution of the works.
• Permanent right-of-way easement 4 meters wide, 2 on each side of the axis, for the hydrogen pipeline and the communications cable.
• Permanent right-of-way easement of 3 meters for the cables and dispersing elements of the cathodic protection.
• Permanent right-of-way and overflight easement 15 meters wide for the power lines.

Among the affected holders are private owners, the DFB Heritage Service of the Provincial Treasury Department, the city councils of Zierbena and Abanto y Zierbena, Promabra SA, Repsol Soluciones Energéticas SA, and the Church of San Lucas.

Deadlines and submission of objections

The deadline is fifteen days starting from the day following the publication of the announcement. The documentation can be examined on the website of the Government Delegation in the Basque Country and at the Industry and Energy Department of the Government Sub-delegation in Bizkaia, located at calle Elcano 10 (48071 Bilbao), Monday to Friday from 9:00 to 14:00, by prior appointment via email or telephone. The parcel maps can also be consulted at the affected city councils.

Objections shall be submitted by written letter addressed to said Department, at the General Registry of the Sub-delegation, or through the Electronic Registry of the General State Administration. The announcement was signed in Bilbao on September 22, 2026, by the Head of the Industry and Energy Department, Lara de la Fuente Alonso.

The hydrogen pipeline is part of the internal hydrogen infrastructure in Spain and directly affects residents and owners of a dozen municipalities in Bizkaia, who now have a deadline reduced by half to object to the route, the environmental impact, and the expropriations before the authorization is resolved.

Source: Official State Gazette (Boletín Oficial del Estado), no. 240, of September 29, 2026, Sec. V-B. Other official announcements, page 51159 (official reference: BOE-B-2026-31549).