Croatia Gas Terminal May Lose 'Strategic' Status

The Croatian economy ministry is thinking about removing the planned liquefied natural gas, LNG, terminal on the northern island of Krk from its list of strategic investment projects, media in the country have reported.

According to Croatian business news portal Poslovni.hr, new economy minister Tomislav Panenic is considering removing the 'strategic' status that the project was given by the country's previous centre-left government.

The previous government designated the LNG terminal project as strategic last July, and state company LNG Croatia launched a tender for potential investors the same month.

The first moves towards building the planned terminal, which would receive, store and re-gasify LNG, came in 2010 when state energy companies founded LNG Croatia.

The terminal project of has support from across the political sphere. Media have speculated that it will be one of three major infrastructural projects to be implemented by new Prime Minister Tihomir Oreskovic.

President Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic also reiterated the importance of the LNG terminal project during her visit to Poland in late January.

"The construction of the LNG terminal on Krk, hopefully in the near future, and the connection towards the Baltic and Poland - I think it would contribute a lot to energy efficiency and security," Grabar Kitarovic said while meeting Polish President Andrzej Duda.

Croatian foreign minister Miro Kovac also emphasized the importance of the project while visiting Hungary last week.

Oil and gas expert Davor Stern expressed surprise at the suggestion that the terminal project culd be downgraded.

"As far as I know, LNG [terminal] is at the top of the priorities for strategic projects in Croatia and any withdrawal from...