Croatia is nearing a decision to further increase the capacity of its FSRU-based LNG import terminal on the northern Adriatic island of Krk, as European countries look to slash reliance on Russian gas.
Earlier this year, the terminal boosted its capacity from 2.6 billion cubic meters of gas to 2.9 bcm per year without new investment.
Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic told media in Brussels on Monday that an investment decision to “considerably” increase the capacity of the Krk facility is “very close”.
Plenkovic did not reveal details of the capacity under consideration. According to reports, there are now plans to even double the regasification capacity of the terminal.
With the capacity expansion, the facility can cater to demand in neighboring countries such as Slovenia, Hungary, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and others, Plenkovic said.
Hungary already receives LNG from the Krk facility, while Slovenia has previously expressed interest to book capacity at the terminal.
Local media reports suggest that Slovenia’s Geoplin has not managed to book capacity as part of a recent open call for booking.
Slovakia also received LNG from Krk and recently said it would receive new supplies via the facility.
30th LNG cargo
State-owned LNG terminal operator LNG Croatia said in a separate statement on Monday that it has received its 30th LNG cargo since the start of operations in January last year.
The 2018-built, 174,000-cbm Castillo de Merida, owned by Elcano and chartered by Naturgy, delivered the new shipment to the FSRU.
Castillo de Merida previously loaded the cargo at Cheniere’s Sabine Pass terminal in the US, its AIS data provided by VesselsValue shows.
The FSRU mostly receives cargoes from the US. It also welcomed shipments from Qatar, Nigeria, Egypt, Trinidad, and reloads from Dunkirk and Zeebrugge.
