State-owned LNG Croatia, the operator of the FSRU-based Krk LNG import terminal, has signed a joint development agreement with SK E&S, a unit of South Korean conglomerate SK Group.
LNG Croatia’s managing director Ivan Fugaš and Youngwook Yoo, VP of global business development of SK E&S signed the deal on Thursday in Zagreb, according to LNG Croatia.
Under the deal, the two firms will cooperate in the LNG industry, renewable energy sources, and energy efficiency.
The two companies will work together on projects for the efficiency of the Krk LNG terminal, CO2 capture, and the development of an LNG distribution and bunkering station, LNG Croatia said.
SK E&S recently joined forces with US tech firm Honeywell UOP to capture carbon from LNG-fueled power plants.
The move is a part of the company’s plans to slash emissions at its power plants, while SK E&S also works to produce low-carbon LNG and develop CCS projects in Australia.
In 2021, SK E&S revealed ambitious plans for its LNG and hydrogen business by 2025.
The company aims to produce 280,000 tons of hydrogen, 7GW of renewables, and 10 million tons of low-carbon LNG by 2025.
It aims to grow into a major global LNG provider that would supply 6 million tons and 10 million tons of LNG by 2023 and 2025, respectively.
On the other hand, LNG Croatia is currently working to boost the capacity of its FSRU-based Krk LNG terminal.
Earlier this year, Finland’s Wartsila won a contract to supply one regasification module for the 140,000-cbm FSRU LNG Croatia.
Under the contract, Wartsila Gas Solutions, a unit of Wartsila, will build the regas module with a maximum capacity of 250,000 m3/h.
The current three LNG regasification units have a maximum regasification rate of 451,840 m3/h.
Following the upgrade, the Krk LNG facility will have a capacity of about 6.1 bcm per year in 2025.
The Krk terminal received 74 LNG cargoes since the launch of operations in January 2021, according to LNG Croatia’s website.
The FSRU mainly receives shipments from the US, but it also received cargoes from Qatar, Nigeria, Egypt, Trinidad, Indonesia, and reloads from European terminals.
Hungary’s MFGK and a unit of Switzerland-based trading firm MET Group are some of the users of the facility.
In addition to receiving LNG shipments, LNG Croatia conducts reloading operations directly from the vessel to a truck.
The firm completed 241 such operations since its started offering these services in April last year.