The Economy Ministry said on Tuesday it was first informed of the HEP power utility's sale of surplus gas by the HROTE energy market operator on 29 June.

The ministry said in a press release it was notified by HEP board chairman Frane Barbaric by letter on 5 April that once HEP’s storage was full, the company would use the surplus gas generated by implementing a government decree for own consumption and sell it on the domestic and/or the foreign market, unless instructed otherwise.

The ministry did not instruct HEP to do otherwise about the surplus gas nor was it not notified by HEP that it would sell surplus gas at non-market prices, the press release said.

Furthermore, it added, the ministry was not notified by Barbaric that HEP’s storage facilities were full or about the possibility of storing gas in other facilities.

The ministry was first informed of HEP’s gas sale by HROTE on 29 June and it was clear from HROTE’s letter that HEP’s gas was being sold at non-market prices, after which the government changed the decree in question and HEP stopped buying gas from the INA energy company, the press release said.

None of the letters which HEP sent the ministry mentioned the possibility of selling gas as it was done by HEP eventually nor was the ministry notified of the HEP management’s actions after the letter of 5 April, it added.

Nacional weekly today published documents according to which Barbaric warned Filipovic four times before June that something should be urgently done, or HEP would face enormous financial damage due to losses in the sale of surplus gas bought from INA.