The company Plinacro, operator of the Croatian gas transmission system, will tomorrow, August 10, begin construction of the first compressor station (KS1) on the gas transmission system of the Republic of Croatia.
It will be built in Moslavina, near the village of Velika Ludina and, when completed, it will be the most technologically complex facility on the gas transmission system of the Republic of Croatia.
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The compressor station, with a maximum power of 4.2 MW and a capacity of 200,000 m3/h, is expected to start compressing natural gas during the third quarter of 2019.
The estimated value of the entire project, which includes the preparation of all necessary project documentation, construction of the facility itself, expert supervision of the construction, inspection of equipment production, and resolution of property legal relations, amounts to 209.5 million kuna, and the project will be fully financed from Plinacro’s own funds.
The contractor is a consortium of bidders consisting of the companies Monter – mechanical assembly, Elektrocentar Petek, and S.C.A.N.
By constructing the KS1 compressor station, the existing Plinacro 75-bar gas transmission system will enable the transport of 0.5 billion m3 of gas annually from the Republic of Croatia to Hungary. After the construction of the Omišalj – Zlobin gas pipeline, which will connect the LNG terminal on the island of Krk to the existing Croatian gas transmission system, the transport of 1.6 billion m3 of gas annually will be enabled.
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As an integral part of Plinacro’s transmission system, the compressor station will increase the flexibility of managing existing transmission capacities and allow for a rational increase in transmission capacities according to the needs of users, i.e., the market. In addition, it will ensure better pressure conditions in the transmission system, thereby increasing the efficiency of the transmission system.
This project is also an important step in meeting the requirements of Regulation (EU) No. 2017/1938 on measures to protect the security of gas supply and repealing Regulation (EU) No. 994/2010, which imposes an obligation on transmission system operators in the EU to ensure a constant physical capacity for gas transport in both directions (bidirectional capacity) at interconnections between EU member states.
In June last year in Budapest, within the framework of the CESEC group (Central Eastern and South-Eastern European Gas Connectivity / Initiative of Central and Southeast European countries on gas system connectivity) and with the support of the European Commission, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Republic of Croatia and Hungary, which reached an agreement on establishing a permanent bidirectional capacity at the existing interconnection between Croatia and Hungary, on the route Donji Miholjac – Dravaszerdahely.
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The construction of the first compressor station is a crucial step in achieving this goal, as it will enable the transport of gas from the Republic of Croatia to Hungary without the need to use the compressor station of the Hungarian gas transmission system operator, FSGZ. In conclusion, considering the aforementioned, it should be emphasized that the realization of this project is of exceptional importance not only for Plinacro and the Republic of Croatia but also for market participants in the gas sector in the Republic of Croatia and the region.
