The Croatian Government is looking into a floating LNG terminal as the country wants to speed up its efforts on construction of an LNG terminal in the Northern Adriatic sea which has been long overdue. A floating terminal will have a better environmental impact infact all processing is done at the gas field, there is no need to lay long pipelines all the way to the shore.

There is also no requirement for compression units to pump the gas to shore, dredging and jetty construction or the onshore construction of an LNG processing plant, all of which significantly reduce the project’s environmental footprint. Avoiding construction also helps preserve marine and coastal environments.

Additionally, environmental disturbance would be minimized during the later decommissioning of the facility, because it could be disconnected easily and removed before being refurbished and re-deployed elsewhere. More, a floating LNG terminal would reduce the construction costs and take only two years to bring to fruition, instead of at least five years it is required now to construct the terminal on the island of Krk: in such this way a new gas hub, independent from classical pipeline crossing turbulent countries, will be available for European Community.

Up to now, according to approved project, Croatia’s first LNG import terminal, will be constructed on Krk island and it is supposed to have a throughput capacity of 6 Gm3/year, including a tanker jetty to accommodate the LNG carriers, 2 LNG storage tanks with a total storage capacity of up to 360 000 m3 LNG, vaporizers and ancillary equipment. EIB is considering to finance approximately EUR 339 million, from the total cost set at EUR 678 million.The LNG Krk is classified as a project of common interest (PCI) and included in the top priority list under the Central and South-Eastern European Gas Connectivity initiative (CESEC). The project would help to meet the security of supply objectives of the European Union.