Qatar to Help Croatia in LNG Terminal Development

Croatia is seeking financial help from the Qatar Investment Authority and Macquarie Group Ltd to build a liquefied natural-gas terminal after securing a supply accord with Qatargas, Bloomberg has reported.

The terminal with annual capacity of 5 bcm is expected to cost $923 million. Croatia aims to complete the project by 2016. Qatargas last month agreed to supply gas for the terminal over 25 years, while Sydney-based Macquarie pledged to match financing with Qatar should it agree to take part in the construction, the news agency said citing Economy Minister Ivan Vrdoljak.

“We’d like to tie the LNG development either to a party which will supply gas, or to parties which will purchase gas,” Vrdoljak said in an interview to Bloomberg.

The LNG terminal would connect to the proposed Trans Adriatic Pipeline, a regional gas project in which Croatia wants to hold at least a 25% stake.

Croatia needs about 1bn cu m of gas a year, while the region’s needs are estimated at about 3bn cu m of gas a year, Vrdoljak said. The country may also build a gas-fuelled power station to help Croatia become an electricity exporter, he said.