Construction of the Zabok – Lučko Gas Pipeline Worth 78 Million Euros to Begin Soon

In parallel with the investments being made by LNG Hrvatska in the expansion of the floating terminal in Omišalj, Plinacro is investing in the construction of additional gas infrastructure to enable gas arriving by ship in Croatia to be transported to Slovenia and Hungary, thereby ensuring conditions for strengthening gas supply security for countries in Central and Southeast Europe. And of course, for stronger trade in gas imported by sea, and for reducing dependence on Russian gas, in line with the European Commission’s REPowerEU plan.

– Plinacro has signed a contract with the Ministry of Economy and the Energy Efficiency Fund for the allocation of funds for ‘Strengthening Gas Infrastructure’. This contract provides Plinacro with a non-repayable grant of 533 million euros from the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism under the project ‘Supporting Infrastructure for the Strategic Investment Project LNG Terminal’, for the construction of four gas pipelines: Zlobin – Bosiljevo, Bosiljevo – Sisak, Kozarac-Sisak, and Zabok – Lučko. The existing gas pipeline Omišalj – Zlobin, built in 2021 to connect the newly constructed UPP Terminal on the island of Krk with Plinacro’s gas transport system, will be connected to the Zlobin -Bosiljevo and Bosiljevo – Sisak and Kozarac-Sisak pipelines, which, together with the existing Kozarac -Slobodnica pipeline, will form the main evacuation gas pipeline connecting the UPP Terminal on Krk with countries in Central and Eastern Europe and Ukraine – stated Ivica Arar, CEO of Plinacro, for Lider.

The construction of the Zlobin – Bosiljevo gas pipeline, which is 58 km long, will increase gas transport capacity to approximately 3.5 billion cubic meters per year. This gas pipeline, which is currently being put into trial operation, will be followed by the Bosiljevo – Sisak – Kozarac gas transport system, which allows for an increase in gas transport from the LNG terminal to 6.1 billion cubic meters per year, corresponding to plans for the expansion of the LNG terminal to the same capacity by installing an additional regasification module on the existing FSRU ship. This will increase the capacity of the domestic gas pipeline to Hungary to 3.5 billion cubic meters per year, depending on how much gas is directed towards Slovenia.

The existing Pula-Karlovac gas pipeline has a smaller diameter and working pressure than the newly constructed pipelines, which limits the gas flow from the LNG terminal to 2.9 billion cubic meters per year, which Plinacro plans to improve by expanding the diameter in this direction. The product pipeline to Slovenia (Lučko – Zabok – Rogatec) is also awaiting upgrades. Construction work on the main gas pipeline Zabok – Lučko will soon begin. The estimated total value of the Zabok – Lučko section, which is 36 kilometers long, is 78 million euros, which includes procurement, supervision, and delivery of steel gas pipeline pipes, delivery and commissioning of equipment, construction of the gas pipeline itself (which partially runs under the Sava and Krapina rivers, railway tracks, and highways), associated facilities, professional supervision of construction, and resolving property law relations.

– Specifically, the construction of the Zlobin-Bosiljevo-Sisak-Kozarac gas transport system and the Zabok-Lučko pipeline will enable an increase in gas transport to Hungary from the current 1.7 to 3.5 billion m3/year, and transport to Slovenia from the current 0.26 to 1.5 billion m3/year. In both countries, the level of diversification and gas supply security will significantly increase, especially in Slovenia, where the new transport capacity will be close to their peak gas consumption – noted Arar.

Arar also mentioned that the new pipelines will be made from pipes that are ready for the transport of natural gas, a mixture of natural gas and hydrogen, or pure hydrogen.