Croatia Has Gas for Another 15 Days

Croatia continues to receive no gas from Russia, however, the conditions in the gas transportation system are stable and the supply for protected customers is uninterrupted, it was learned today from Plinacro.

Today marks the ninth day without Russian gas, and the Ministry of Economy, Labour and Entrepreneurship emphasizes that, along with current consumption, the reduction measures of the 5th and 6th levels, emergency imports of 40,000 cubic meters per hour, and the rerouting of part of ENI’s gas from the Northern Adriatic, there is gas available for the next 15 days. Current gas consumption is being met by production from domestic fields on land and in the Northern Adriatic, gas from the Okoli underground storage, which currently holds about 335 million cubic meters of gas according to INA’s data, with 40,000 cubic meters per hour coming from emergency imports, while part of the quantity (30,000 cubic meters) intended for Italian ENI from the Northern Adriatic has been redirected to the Croatian transportation system.

Both the Ministry of Economy and Plinacro today reiterate their appeal for savings, responsible behavior, and consistent application of prescribed measures to ensure uninterrupted gas supply for protected customers in the future. In Croatia, the measures of the 5th and 6th levels of gas reduction from the Regulation on the Security of Natural Gas Supply remain in effect, specifically the measures to suspend gas supply to industrial and other unprotected customers, in order to ensure uninterrupted gas supply for protected customers (households, hospitals, schools, kindergartens, and other institutions of special public importance). According to this Regulation, the 5th level implies the suspension of gas supply to all customers directly connected to the transportation system, except for HEP, while the 6th level provides for the suspension of deliveries to all customers connected to the distribution system, except for protected customers.

Gas reduction, according to estimates from the companies themselves and employer associations, causes significant damage to the economy, with substantial losses due to interrupted production processes, and some companies have warned of damage to the facilities themselves. Accurate data on damages is still unavailable, and the Ministry also does not have data on damages yet. They remind that the measures of the 5th and 6th levels were introduced on January 10 at 8 AM, and announcing the day before the introduction of these measures, the Ministry also stated that, although the Regulation speaks of suspension, they would take into account companies that could suffer damage to their facilities due to the suspension of gas supply. Some companies immediately reported, warned, and documented that they would incur significant damages due to the complete suspension, indicating how long it would take them to shut down machines, what damages they could incur on the machines themselves, and how long it would take to restart production. For companies that reported and documented possible damages, gas supply has been reduced to a technological minimum, says the minister’s advisor and spokesperson Tomislav Mazal.

The Regulation is fully compliant with the European directive, the category of protected customers (households, hospitals, schools, kindergartens, and public institutions of special significance) is well known everywhere, said Mazal, adding that it is a business decision for large companies whether they will secure alternative fuels along with gas, such as having storage for heating oil or underground tanks for liquefied petroleum gas, etc. The Ministry, which provides incentives to economic entities every year, will consider the possibility that one of the criteria for these incentives could be proven damages incurred due to undelivered gas, and this possibility, he notes, must first be verified with the Competition Protection Agency. (H)