ZAGREB, October 15, 2018 – Seven or eight years ago, Croatia was able to satisfy 80%-90% of its gas needs from its own production, while currently less than half the gas needs are met by the country’s own resources, and in eight years’ time less than one fifth of the gas needs will be met by domestic production, the head of the Croatian Gas Association, Dalibor Pudić, said at a conference called “The Croatian and the Regional Gas Market” on Monday.
This is a consequence of the fact that it is very difficult for projects to be accepted and implemented in Croatia, notably those related to the exploration of hydrocarbons. “When we want to implement some project, the ‘not in my backyard’ phenomenon appears and there is no exploration,” Pudić said, adding that similar situations appear in other countries throughout Europe.
Addressing the conference, organised by the Poslovni Dnevnik daily in Zagreb, Pudić said that only five to six countries in Europe had a good production-consumption ratio. Norway, Russia and the Netherlands top the rankings. Croatia should better exploit its potential in this regard, he said.
He said that Croatia could become a regional gas hub in the future and advocated the construction of an LNG terminal on Krk.
According to gas consumption per capita, the Croatian citizen on average consumes 616 cubic metres annually, while the Dutch average consumption per capita in a year is 2,424 m3 and in Belgium it stands at 1,507 m3.
Pudić also called for treating the gas-based economy as a backbone of the energy and economic development of Croatia.
