After Russian natural gas supplies to the EU were cut off, Croatia's only liquefied natural gas, specifically the LNG terminal on the island of Krk, became the most important energy facility for the country.
But now, Croatia, together with the EU, plans to expand the importance of LNG and provide more natural gas to Slovenia and other countries in the region, as CGTN’s Aljosa Milenkovic explained.
But now, Croatia, together with the EU, plans to expand the importance of LNG and provide more natural gas to Slovenia and other countries in the region, as CGTN’s Aljosa Milenkovic explained.
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00:00These heavy machines are constructing one of four new gas pipelines in Croatia.
00:06They'll connect the LNG terminal on the island of Krk with other parts of the country,
00:11then Slovenia, and in the future, Hungary.
00:15It's part of a major upgrade of Croatia's entire natural gas network.
00:20Not only the expansion of our output capacity for Slovenia,
00:26but also an expansion on the terminal on the island of Krk.
00:30It is in the extension phase.
00:32Its capacity will be expanded from the existing 2.9 to 6.1 billion cubic meters of natural gas.
00:40The ships carrying LNG dock in this terminal,
00:43where the liquefied gas is converted back to the gas state
00:47and then pumped through the pipes to the consumers.
00:50Most of the LNG arriving here is from the U.S. and the Middle East,
00:55a very different situation compared to before the conflict in Ukraine.
01:00Here in Croatia, over the last two decades, we were stuck between the U.S. and Russian influence.
01:05Russia was pushing against the construction of the LNG terminal,
01:09while the U.S. was pushing for it.
01:11Now, after the crisis initiated by the war in Ukraine,
01:15this terminal has become very important.
01:19But some see it as merely a backup, a temporary sticking plaster for the EU gas crisis.
01:26They say LNG is consistently more expensive than pipeline-delivered natural gas.
01:33I hope this war will end and that collaboration between Russia and Europe can resume.
01:39Russia is a natural supplier of gas to Europe.
01:42This facility can stay as a backup for some unexpected situations, which I hope won't arise.
01:49While Russian gas deliveries remain suspended,
01:51for Croatia and many other EU countries in the region,
01:54the LNG coming from the Krk terminal is the only way to get their energy.
01:59Aljoša Milenković, CGTN, Zagreb.