Royal Decree 949/2001, of 3 August, which regulates the access of third parties to gas installations and establishes an integrated economic system of the natural gas sector, develops the basic lines that must contain the Technical Management Standards of the natural gas system, and, in its article 13, establishes that the Technical Manager of the System, in collaboration with the rest of the subjects involved, will produce a proposal of Standards of Technical Management of the System, which raise the Minister for Economic Affairs for approval or amendment. In compliance with the above, the Minister of Industry, Tourism and Trade issued Order ITC/3126/2005 of 5 October, approving the Technical Management Standards of the Gas System. That order, in its final provision, empowers the Directorate-General for Energy Policy and Mines to take the necessary measures for the implementation and enforcement of the order, in particular to approve and amend the detailed protocols. of the Technical Management Standards and other requirements, rules, documents and operating procedures established to enable the correct operation of the system. This order, in the NGTS-10 management standard, establishes the creation of a working group for the updating, revision and modification of the rules responsible for the presentation for approval by the General Directorate of Energy Policy, Proposals for updating, reviewing and amending the rules and protocols for the management of the gas system. On the basis of the above, a proposal of four new detailed protocols for its approval has been received by the Technical Manager of the System on 28 July 2006. In accordance with the above, and with the additional provision in the third subparagraph of Law 34/1998 of 7 October 1998 of the Hydrocarbons Sector and Article 13 of Royal Decree 949/2001 of 3 August, the present decision has been submitted to the mandatory report of the National Energy Commission dated 4 January 2007. This report recommends the amendment of a number of rules to ensure consistency with the content of the new protocols. In its virtue, this Directorate General resolves:

Article first. Object.

The technical management rules of the gas system, published in ministerial order ITC/3126/2005 of 5 October, are amended by the new wording included in the annexes referred to in the second article and approved by the Commission. four new detailed protocols as set out in the third article.

Article 2. Modification of the technical management rules of the system.

Certain sections of the technical management rules are replaced by the new content listed in the following Annexes: (a) Annex 1. Section 1.4 "Other definitions" of the technical management standard for the NGTS-01 gas system "General concepts".

(b) Annex 2 (2.8) "Principles for the calculation of the capacity of installations" of the technical management standard of the gas system NGTS-02 " General conditions on the use and capacity of the system installations ".

A new one of the following technical management technical standards is approved:

(a) Annex 3. NGTS-03 "Programs".

(b) Annex 4. NGTS-04 "Nominations".

Article 3. New detail protocols.

The following detail protocols are approved: a) PD-07 detail protocol "Transport infrastructure programmes and nominations".

b) PD-08 detail protocol "Consumptions and nominations of consumption in distribution networks". (c) PD-09 detail protocol "Eligible Ranges of the basic control variables of the gas system". d) PD-10 detail protocol "Calculation of facilities capacity".

The content of these protocols is contained in the document "Protocols PD-07, PD-08, PD-09 and PD-10", published on the website of the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Commerce http://www.mityc.es/Gas/Seccion/NGTS.

Article 4. Scope of application.

The detailed protocols of the technical management rules of the gas system will apply to all subjects who access it, to the System Technical Manager itself, to the owners of the gas installations and to the (a) consumers and will apply at all facilities of the Spanish gas system, as determined by Article 59 of Law 34/1998 of 7 October of the Hydrocarbons Sector.

Against this Resolution, it may be brought, within one month, to be brought before the very excellent Secretary General of Energy, in accordance with the provisions of Law 4/1999 of 13 January, amending Law 30/1992, of 26 November, of the Legal Regime of Public Administrations and of the Common Administrative Procedure, and in Law 6/1997, of 14 April, of the Organization and the Functioning of the General Administration of the State.

Final disposition first. Publication.

The document "Modification of the Rules of Technical Management of the System and Protocols of Detail of April 17, 2007" is published on the website of the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade: http://www.mityc.es/Gas/Seccion//NGTS

Final disposition second. Entry into force.

This Resolution will enter into force on the day following its publication in the "Official State Gazette"

Madrid, 20 April 2007. -Director General of Energy Policy and Mines, Jorge Sanz Oliva.

ANNEX 1

New wording of section 1.4 "Other definitions" of the NGTS-01 technical management standard:

1.4 Other definitions. 1.4.1 Year of gas. -Period of time beginning January 1 and ending on December 31 of the same year and in which the scheduled operations for that period are carried out.

1.4.2 Gas Day-Time period beginning at 0 hours and ending at 24 hours on the same calendar day and in which scheduled operations are performed for that period. It is the temporary unit of reference for all daily activities that include these Standards. 1.4.3 Later gas day. -It is the day after the gas day. 1.4.4 Previous day of gas. -It is the day before the gas day. 1.4.5 Contract of access to the facilities of the gas system. -Contract signed between a user of the gas system, and the operator of an infrastructure to access the facilities. 1.4.6 Mechanism of communication. -Channel and physical or electronic procedure to carry out the processes and send the necessary communications (including any notification, sending of information, confirmation, request, approval or acceptance processes) in the gas system. 1.4.7 Measurement protocol-A set of procedures and technical specifications according to which gas measurements and analysis are carried out, as well as, inter alia, the checks and metrological confirmation of the measuring facilities. 1.4.8 Maintenance plans. -Documents that collect all scheduled inspection, c and will be accredited by the owners of the facilities on the basis of their technical characteristics and what is established in these Rules and their detailed protocols. As a provisional value, 9 per 100 of the storage capacity in tanks of (LNG) will be taken. 1.4.30 Useful storage in tanks of regasification plants. -Volume of LNG that it is possible to store in the useful capacity of the tanks of the regasification plants. This volume shall also be expressed for the purposes of these rules in the number of days equivalent to the contracted transport capacity 1.4.31 Storage included in the transport and distribution toll. -Storage to which the users of the service transport and distribution are entitled to contract the use of the necessary facilities to transport the gas from the point of entry in the transport network to the point of supply to the consumer, expressed in number of days equivalent to the contracted transport capacity. 1.4.32 Storage included in the regasification toll. -LNG storage in the tanks of the regasification plants to which the users of the regasification service are entitled to contract the use of the facilities, expressed in number of days equivalent to the daily contracted regasification capacity.

ANNEX 2

New wording of section 2.8 of the NGTS-02 system technical management standard:

2.8 Principles for the calculation of capacity of facilities. -Facility holders will develop and publish procedures to determine the capabilities of their facilities in accordance with the PD-10 detail protocol "Calculation of the Capacity of the Gas System Installations".

In addition, given its fundamental character, the owners of the facilities will have to publish the capabilities of their facilities with the detail and scope of the aforementioned protocol, in order to guarantee that all the subjects with the right of access to the gas installations have the same information, uniform and sufficient, which makes it possible to make effective decisions in the exercise of their right of third parties.

ANNEX 3

NGTS-03:

3. Programming. 3.1 Concept of programming. -Information to be issued by any of the subjects making use of the gas system installations in relation to the gas which it considers to introduce, extract, store, supply or consume in a period.

The programming will be informative, except for the monthly program of entry to the gas system for international connections, for connections with fields in production, which will be binding for the two months following and in the case of unloading of LNG vessels which shall be binding for a period between one and a half months and two months depending on the capacity of the vessel. Standard models or forms will be established where the schedules will be collected. 3.2 Subjects required to make programmes. -All subjects using the facilities of the operators of the gas system, including those responsible for supplying the market at regulated rates, will be obliged to make programmes for such operators to organise the management of the same and, in particular, for the Technical Manager of the System to be able to carry out the tasks assigned to them as responsible for the technical management of the gas system. Programming related to:

The consumption at the supply points.

The distribution: by the connection points of the transport networks with the distribution networks. The transport: the entry of gas through the points of entry of the transport networks. The use of the storage. The unloading of LNG vessels in regasification plants and the use of these plants.

The operators of the transport and distribution infrastructures, through the Technical Manager of the System, will send periodically to the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Commerce and to the National Energy Commission the following information:

1. Schedules made, validated and rejected and granted.

2. Scheduled and available capacity for each installation.

3.3 Distribution Network Programming-The operator of each distribution network will receive the programming associated with the exit points by the users of their networks.

In the case of connections between distribution networks, distributors will deliver the aggregated information to the upstream distributor. The operators of each distribution network, taking into account the data provided by the marketers and by the consumers who contribute gas to the system, adding, where appropriate, the consumption corresponding to the customers at tariff and providing the The distributor's data downstream, if any, will validate the programming. Where the programming is feasible, the operator shall confirm its viability to the subjects involved and shall forward its programming to the operator of the transport network to which its distribution network is connected. In the case of distribution networks dependent on LNG satellite plants, the operator of the distribution network shall send the viable programming to the operator of the LNG regasification plant on which it depends. The programming of distribution networks and their feasibility will be carried out with the periodicity and scope set out in the detail protocol PD-08 "Programmes and nominations of consumption in distribution networks". 3.4 Programming of transport networks.-The operator of a transport network will receive the programmes associated with the points of entry to the transport network by the subjects involved and the points of exit of the transport network by the operators of the distribution networks or distributor group. Therefore, they should send you schedules:

The operators of the following installations connected to your network: Storage.

Transport networks of other carriers. Regasification plants. Distribution networks. The connections of the international pipelines and deposits.

You will also need to send users schedules for the consumption that will be performed on the hotlines.

The operators of each transport network, taking into account the data provided, will simulate the feasibility of the programming for the transport network. Where the scheduling of the transport network is feasible, the operator shall confirm its viability to the subjects involved. The programming for the installations of the transport networks and their feasibility shall be carried out with the periodicity and scope set out in the detail protocol PD-07 "Programmes and nominations in transport infrastructure". Carriers shall be required to remarry gas inputs and outputs at the connection points of the different transport networks. Where the programming is not feasible, the operator shall inform the users concerned to review the excess programming in respect of the capacity reserves. In the case of binding schedules, the programming of entry may only be modified or removed for reasons justified and prior to the knowledge and acceptance of the entry point holder and the System Technical Manager, unless it is put in place. danger the security of the system. 3.5 Underground storage programming. -Users will send to the operator of each underground storage the programming of their activities, which will include at least the following information:

Gas stored at the beginning of the period.

Injections and extractions corresponding to the programming scope in each case.

When the programming of the underground storage is not viable, the operator will communicate it to the corresponding users to change their programming.

When the programming of the underground storage is viable, the operator will confirm its viability to the subjects involved and send its programming to the operator of the transport network to which it is connected. The programmes, nominations and balances relating to the underground storage shall be made on the basis of a single storage. The programmes for underground storage shall be carried out with the periodicity and scope set out in the PD-07 detail protocol "Programmes and nominations in transport infrastructure". 3.6 Programming of LNG regasification. -The users of the regasification plants, will send to the operator of the installation the programs associated with the unloading of the ships, and to the regasification and exit of gas from the plant of regasification to the net corresponding transport. In addition, the operator of the LNG regasification plant will receive and take into account the request for loading of tanks that supply the distribution networks and industrial customers supplied through the LNG satellite plants. The LNG regasification plant operator will simulate the viability of the program. Where the programming is not feasible, the operator shall inform the relevant users to change their programming. Where the programming is feasible, the operator shall confirm its viability to the subjects involved and send it to the operators concerned. The programming for the regasification plants will be carried out with the periodicity and scope contained in the detail protocol PD-07 "Programmes and nominations in transport infrastructures". The final annual programming must include at least the tentative dates of unloading for each of the large vessels dedicated continuously to the traffic from long distances and with the same origin, in order to facilitate in all the As a matter of priority, the continuity of the use of these ships to the assigned traffics. In the case of cargos shared with other marketing operators, each shall specify the amount of LNG that corresponds to it. If it is not feasible, and no agreement is reached between the subjects involved, the Technical Manager of the System will adopt the best possible solution based on criteria of objectivity, transparency and non-discrimination, with the objective of achieving the maximum efficiency for the system and the increased security for the supply of the affected users. In the monthly programming, the tentative dates allocated in the annual programming for the discharges of the great ships dedicated continuously to the long distance traffics from a time will be respected as a priority. same origin. The programming of unloading of a vessel may only be modified or removed for reasons justified and prior to the knowledge and acceptance of the holder of the regasification plant and the Technical Manager of the System, unless the vessel is endangered. system security. A record shall be created, maintained by the System Technical Manager, of unallocated, unallocated and free ship discharge windows on each of the plants, free of access for plant holders and marketers. In the case of the release of a download window at a site, the priorities of reassignment to another user of that download capacity will be as follows:

That request that, being in the record of unscheduled download requests from the available window, the requested download date that is closest to the one that has been released.

That request that, in the record of unscheduled download requests from another site, the requested download date that is closest to the one that has been released. In the event that no application exists in any of the regasification plants, it shall be brought to the attention of all users with input capacity.

This released capacity reassignment procedure will be coordinated by the System Technical Manager.

When the operator of each LNG regasification plant declares the monthly programming viable, it shall fix and communicate the date of unloading of each vessel (window). Each user shall receive the information relating to their respective vessels. The vessel discharge procedure shall be detailed in the relevant detail protocol. On a daily basis, users will provide the operators of the regasification plants with any modifications to the monthly program of assigned downloads.

3.6.1 Viability of ship discharge schedules. -Each user of regasification plants shall have the right to maintain in the system assembly an average LNG stock of less than or equal to 8 days its total contracted regasification capacity in the system plant assembly. If the figure so calculated is less than 300 GWh, the users who discharge gas in the regasification plants shall be entitled, in all the regasification plants of the system, to 300 GWh of average stocks.

For the above purposes, the System Technical Manager shall determine the average LNG stocks of each user on a daily basis, calculated as the arithmetic mean of the daily LNG stocks of the user in the system, for the previous mobile month (30 days), and shall be communicated to the user together with the daily balance sheets (n + 2). The effects of this rule shall be understood as the same user of the plant to the set of users belonging to the same business group. Where the average LNG stock of a user exceeds the maximum permitted, the Technical Manager of the System shall apply to the excess of LNG that is above that value, the corresponding increased storage fee of agreement with the following:

The Directorate-General for Energy Policy and Mines is empowered to issue a resolution by amending the excess days to which the previous charges apply, in the light of market developments and storage capacity. and on a proposal from the System Technical Manager.

This billing will have the system's liquidable income consideration. In any event, the Technical Manager of the System, in collaboration with the owners of the regasification plants, may refuse the discharges of vessels when the user has in the set of the regasification plants of a level of LNG stocks exceeding five days of their contracted regasification capacity. Similarly, the System Technical Manager may refuse monthly ship-discharge schedules when the security of the system is comproext period of renomination. Where the operation of the installation related to one or more nominations is not feasible to exceed the capacity of the installation and is refused, the operator shall inform the operators and the relevant users of the capacity pro rata requested according to the following:

The requested capacity will be granted to all users who have nominated a capacity less than or equal to the contract. For the rest, the contract will be granted, with the excess capacity being distributed in proportion to the contracted capacity.

When the operation of the nomination-related installation is feasible, the operator will confirm the nominations to the users involved before the corresponding deadline. In the case of connection points between the transport networks and the other facilities of the gas system, the operators of the two infrastructures must marry the gas inputs and outputs at the connection points of their facilities.

4.5 Renominations. -A renomination is a review of a previously accepted nomination. Renominations will be sent to the affected carrier and distributor simultaneously.

The renomination will have the same content and format as the nomination and follow the same general procedure in each case. The renomination shall be performed in the periods established for this purpose in the detail protocol PD-07. For final consumer nominations, it can only be renominated in the case of consumers that can condition the normal operation of the network to which they are connected (according to definition included in the NGTS-01). The acceptance of a renomination will nullify all or part of the nomination. The renomination performed on the day prior to the day of gas may affect the whole time period of the gas day. The renomination made on the gas day will affect the time period from 12:00 a.m. to 24:00. In particular, for consumers who can condition the normal operation of the network to which they are connected (according to definition included in the NGTS-01) the nomination for that hour-by-hour period will be changed. For all other users and since the renomination affects half a day, it will be considered to affect only the part of the daily period after 12:00 hours of the gas day. The total value of the renomination will be divided between 24 and multiplied by the remaining 12 hours to end the day. Users who nominate for consumption related to the production of electrical energy, in the event that such electrical production is negotiated and accepted in the electric pool, will be able to renominate as many times as its intraday market does required. Exceptionally in this case and for the proper functioning of the gas system, the nomination shall be sent in parallel to the carriers and to the Technical Manager of the System. Such nomination shall be accepted or refused at the time of his nomination. 4.6 Periodicity and scope of nominations and renominations. -Nominations for the facilities of the transport networks will be carried out with the periodicity and scope of the PD-07 detail protocol " Programmes and Nominations in Transport infrastructure ". The programming for the installations of the transport networks will be carried out with the periodicity and scope of the protocol of detail PD-08 "Programs and Nominations of Consumers in Distribution Networks". 4.7 Allocation of nomination or renomination in case of refusal:

In the event of a refusal of a nomination and in the absence of a new nomination at the end of the nomination period, the following procedure will be followed.

The last weekly schedule for the corresponding gas day will be assigned as the nomination.

The operator will check the feasibility of nominations.

If this is feasible, the scheduled one will be assigned. If it is not feasible:

If there is no unavailability, the contracted capacity will be assigned as the nomination.

If there is unavailability, the provisions of paragraph 4.8.

In case of denial of a renomination, the procedure described above will be applied to the last existing nomination. 4.8 Nomination allocation in case of inavailabilities of certain unscheduled facilities. -In case of unscheduled inavailabilities the following procedure will be followed:

The last programming for the corresponding gas day will be assigned as the nomination.

The operator will check the feasibility of nominations. In the case of being viable, the programming shall be assigned as the nomination. In the case of non-viable, the available capacity shall be assigned as the nomination. The available capacity allocation shall be proportional to the capacity contracted by each user.

4.9 Denial of a nomination or renomination. -Are possible causes of rejection of a nomination or renomination:

The nomination has been sent out of the period marked for this purpose.

The user is not recognized at the point of entry or exit point for which it is payroll. The user does not have stock in the system, or to face the nomination needs to decrease its storage below the minimum operational stock required to ensure the functioning of the system. Nominations for each user shall be refused if the balance sheets referred to in paragraph 7.2 of the NGTS-07 "Balance sheet" are not met. In this case, the appropriate user will be notified to normalize their situation. Unjustified unavailability in certain installations affecting the total or partial capacity of the gas system.

A renomination can be denied by the same causes as a nomination.

The refusal of a nomination or renomination shall be accompanied by the grounds for refusal.

4.10 Viability of the schedules and nominations. -The System Technical Manager, based on the provisional commercial balance sheets of each subject, and the monthly, weekly and nominations received, analyse the feasibility of these.

It may not be feasible for any of the programs or nominations received in the event that:

In weekly and daily (nominations) schedules, a strong deviation from the scheduled or nominated amounts and the updating of the measurements that are being made during the generation of the balance sheets is produced. Each user will be provisional, and will affect their operational stock. To reduce the scope of this problem, the System Technical Manager must have the telematic information of the consumers that can condition the normal operation of the network to which they are connected (according to definition included in the NGTS-02).

Through the distributor you will have more up-to-date distribution information from the rest of the customers:

In the case of monthly schedules, if the difference between inputs and outputs to the transport system could, in the opinion of the System Technical Manager, affect the operating system's operating system for excess or defect.