LNG Croatia opens new terminal capacity bidding round

LNG Croatia, the state-owned company that is developing the country’s first liquefied natural gas facility on the island of Krk, launched the second round of bidding for the capacity at the terminal. 

Earlier this month, the Croatian parliament passed the law allowing the construction of the floating LNG terminal, paving the way for the second bidding round.

The second round was postponed from April 23 initially to June 22, with the deadline for submissions set at August 3, 2018, Croatia LNG said in its notice, adding that the bidding was postponed due to market circumstances.

The company said it has lined up its open season procedure with that of Croatia’s transmission system operator Plinacro, for the transmission system capacity booking.

In a separate statement, Plinacro said it is conducting the open season with its Hungarian counterpart FGSZ.

The open seasons would allow bidders to secure capacity at the entry point into transmission system (Omišalj) and Drávaszerdahely interconnection point in the direction from Croatia to Hungary.

Plinacro and LNG Croatia aim to implement the LNG project jointly. This includes the construction of the LNG terminal on the island of Krk and the gas pipeline for the delivery of gas from the LNG terminal.

LNG Croatia recently revised its the technical characteristics and capacities of the initially requested FSRU to reduce the initially planned capital costs of the project.

The project will still be developed in two phases, with the first phase including a development of the FSRU while the second phase entails the construction of a land-based LNG import facility, according to LNG Croatia.

The European Union has put the LNG terminal on its list of projects of common interest and will invest 101.4 million euros ($120.2m) in the development.