Gas supplies on Croatia-Hungary interconnector could start in 2019

By making the Croatia-Hungary gas interconnector reverse-flow capable, Croatia will enable Hungary to buy gas from the network by the end of 2019, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Saturday after talks with Tomislav Coric, Croatia’s minister of environment and energy.

Talks have also started on the price of gas available from the LNG (liquid natural gas) terminal in the Island of Krk, Szijjártó told MTI by phone.

“It serves Hungary’s national security and economic interests if it has as many resources available as possible to buy sufficient volume of gas for the operation of the economy and also to satisfy private consumers’ demands,”

Szijjártó said in Dubrovnik where he is attending an international foreign and security policy event dubbed the Dubrovnik Forum.

A Hungarian-Russian gas purchase agreement currently in force will expire at the end of 2020 at the latest. This will create a completely new situation and it will enable Hungary to involve new resources in its gas supply, he added.

“Croatia could become a strategic partner in this respect,” he said.

The LNG terminal in Krk is expected to be completed by the second half of 2020, he added.

“We made it clear to our Croatian partners that Hungary will buy liquid natural gas from Croatia only if its price is competitive,” he said, adding that in order for Hungary to sign a long-term gas supply agreement Croatia must offer long-term guarantees.

Commenting on the issue of migration, he said he had also held bilateral talks with Deputy Prime Minister of Macedonia Radmila Sekerinska and Foreign Minister of Bosnia-Herzegovina Igor Crnadak.

“I informed them that Hungary is willing to offer all the help necessary to Bosnia-Herzegovina and to Macedonia in order to enable them to maintain controls over their borders and prevent another wave of migrants from crossing the Western Balkans,” Szijjártó said.

Source: MTI