The Republic of Croatia is to invest €180mn in developing the Zlobin-Bosiljevo gas pipeline and increasing capacity of the LNG terminal in Krk.
Around €155mn will be invested in the gas pipeline network and €25mn is earmarked for the expansion of the terminal’s capacity.
Speaking in the introductory part of the Government session about current and further measures to mitigate the consequences of the energy crisis, Prime Minister Plenković announced that the Government will make a strategic decision on increasing the capacity of the LNG terminal on Krk.
He said the additional investment will raise 6.1bcm of gas per year.
”This will enable not only a complete supply of gas for Croatia when it comes to the needs of households and industry, but we will truly make Croatia a regional energy hub,” he said.
EU funds will be used as much as possible for investment financing with the support of funds from the state budget, he added.
Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Davor Filipović, said, “It is a strategic decision because we are doubling the current capacity of the LNG terminal on the island of Krk, and we are also going to build a new gas pipeline, all in order to strengthen the security of gas supply in the Republic of Croatia.”
Since it started operations in January 2021, the terminal has received a total of 32 cargoes, representing a volume of 2.86bcm of gas equivalent, according to data from S&P Global Commodity Insights.
It struggled to secure LNG cargoes for most of 2021, with only 13 cargoes supplied in the first three quarters of the year, as higher Asian LNG prices drew cargoes away from the European market.
However, higher European prices saw LNG supply into Europe pick up significantly toward the end of 2021, with European prices continuing to hold a premium over spot Asian LNG prices into 2022.
According to Platts price assessments by S&P Global, the TTF contract for August delivery was priced at $37.98/MMBtu on June 20, while the equivalent JKM spot LNG price was assessed at $36.05/MMBtu.