Croatian liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal on the island of Krk started operations a year ago and has been operating with 100 % leased capacity for the entire year.
Director of the terminal’s operator LNG Hrvatska Hrvoje Krhen said that there were a total of 19 LNG cargo deliveries in 2021 and, although the leased capacity was 2.6 billion cubic meters, a total of 1.6 billion cubic meters of gas were delivered to the system, which is about a half of Croatia’s annual demand. However, some of the delivered quantities were transported to Hungary.
In the first year, LNG cargoes to the terminal were delivered from the United States, Qatar, Nigeria, Belgium, France, Trinidad and Tobago and Egypt.
Krhen explained that Croatia’s annual gas demand amounts to around 2.8 billion cubic meters, of which 20 % is supplied from domestic production and about 10 % imported from Hungary, with small quantities imported from Slovenia and taken from the underground gas storage Okoli.
Director of LNG Hrvatska said that there is a lot of interest in supplying ships with LNG as a fuel in maritime transport, but the bunkering station could realistically start operating in two to three years, not earlier.
Krhen said that all capacities for gas year 2021/2022 are already leased, with enough room to accommodate one or two additional vessels.
Between 1 October 2021 and 30 September 2022, a total of 24 LNG vessels are expected, carrying about 2.1 billion cubic meters of gas.
