The "LNG Croatia" vessel sailed into Omisalj on the island of Krk on Tuesday, bringing the first amounts of liquefied natural gas for the trial operation of the Omisalj floating terminal.

On this occasion, Economy and Sustainable Development Minister Tomislav Coric said that Croatia was now provided with an alternative supply route, and that the country thus earned its place on the energy map of the world.

This act means the realisation of all that has been dreamed of since 1993, the minister underscored.

The “LNG Croatia” has a storage capacity of 140,000 cubic metres, with a nominal LNG regasification capacity of 300,000 m3/h, or an annual capacity of 2.6 billion cubic metres.

The “LNG Croatia” is a Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FSRU) and it will be one of the main elements of the terminal. The FSRU, which has state-of-the-art security systems, will enable the docking of all LNG transport vessels with capacities ranging from 3,500 to 265,000 cubic metres.

Coric said that the government had provided €100 million for the implementation of this project and that €101.4 million had been obtained as a grant from European Union funds.

The whole project of the construction of the LNG terminal and the procurement of the LNG Croatia vessel cost €233.6 million. The remaining funds were provided by the Croatian energy company HEP and the gas oil pipeline operator Plinacro.

Reassuring local residents about the advantages of the project, Coric said that the terminal applied the highest ecological standards, and that the local community would be rewarded with a sort of compensation for providing the location for the terminal.

A return on investment is expected already with the lease of 0.52 billion cubic metres of natural gas a year. Annual operating costs have been estimated at €13 million.

The LNG company director, Hrvoje Krehen, said that the trial operation would start on Wednesday.