EC Approves Bosnia-Croatia Gas Link Study

The European Commission (EC) has approved the launch of a feasibility study on a proposed gas link between Bosnia and Croatia, Bosnian state gas supplier BH-Gas said July 18.

The planned pipeline would run from Zagvozd in southern Croatia to the southern Bosnian city of Mostar. Due online in either 2023 or 2024, it would allow Bosnia to tap gas supplies from the LNG import terminal under construction on the Croatian island of Krk. That would help Bosnia wean itself from near total dependency on Russian gas.

The EC will issue a €1mn ($1.1mn) grant to fund the study, which will be undertaken by a consortium led by UK-based Mott MacDonald over the coming year. BH-Gas will start work securing planning clearance for the pipeline. Croatia has already obtained similar permits for its section of the project.

Construction of the Krk LNG terminal began in April. The facility is slated to start operations in late 2020, with import capacity ramping up to 5.6mn mt/yr. Hungary recently expressed interest in buying a stake in the Croatian state-owned project.