LNG Hrvatska Extends Deadline for Non-Binding Bids for LNG Krk Capacity

Croatia's LNG Hrvatska said it has extended until May 31 the deadline for non-binding bids to book capacity at the planned liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal on the Adriatic island of Krk.

"Due to requests from gas suppliers and regional utility companies for extension of non-binding open season procedure stage, LNG Hrvatska decided to prolong the due date for thirty days," the company said in a statement posted on its website.

In December, LNG Hrvatska - established for the purpose of building and operating the infrastructure necessary for receiving, storing and regasifying LNG, told SeeNews that the capacity of the terminal will be 4.0-6.0 billion cu m annually and that it is expecting the biggest interest to come from regional companies engaged in the production of LNG and in gas trade.

In the first phase of the two-stage open season procedure, potential customers are invited to submitnon-binding bids for storage capacity. Based on the received offers and total available capacity, LNG Hrvatska will come up with proposals for the capacity allocation. If satisfied with the capacity allocated, potential customers can proceed to the second step of the open season procedure and submit a binding offer.

After the binding offer is accepted, the respective customer will be able to sign a long term contract with LNG Hrvatska in order to finally book the previously allocated capacity.

LNG Hrvatska,which is currently in the process of obtaining a location permit for the planned terminal, said that it expects the project would benefit from the latest developments regarding the South Stream gas pipeline as they shift focus in the region on gas supplies via Krk.

Besides the capacity booking procedure, LNG Hrvatska intends to initiate a call for equity in the first half of 2015. The final investment decision on the project is expected in the middle of 2016 with the commissioning of the LNG terminal seen in the middle of 2019.

The LNG terminal, which will be able to receive the largest LNG carriers of up to 265,000 cu m, is planned to comprise two storage tanks with a capacity of 180,000 cu m each.[banner]

Source: SeeNews