Page 11 - EurOil Week 39 2022

EurOil NEWS IN BRIEF EurOil

After Nord Stream explosions, Croatia’s INA appoints new caretaker government led by Prime Minister
Gulub Donev refused to buy six tankers of US
Lithuania uneasy about safety of management liquified natural gas (LNG), saying it cannot
find slots to unload them and that it is forced
its LNG terminal Croatian oil and gas company INA said to restart talks with Gazprom on deliveries.
on September 29 its supervisory board
Earlier in September, caretaker Energy
Following the Nord Stream gas leak incidents has appointed a new management board, Minister Rossen Hristov said that the
in the Baltic Sea, Lithuania says it is “worried” including Hungarian Peter Ratatics becoming authorities intend to call a tender for natural
about its Klaipeda LNG terminal, LRT.lt, the president as proposed by shareholder MOL. gas to secure additional supplies and hopes to
website of Lithuanian national broadcaster The entire former management of INA get offers from Greece and Turkey which have
LRT, reported on September 29. lost their jobs earlier in September, after surpluses.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen a corruption scandal was revealed by the Interested suppliers can file offers until
said on September 27 that the leak in the Croatian anti-corruption body, USKOK. October 4 and the offered quantity should be
Baltic Sea was “deliberate” and not a result of The management board includes two more no less than 3mn MWh distributed through
an accident. representatives nominated by MOL and three the 14 months of supply.
Lithuanian experts point out that while members picked by the government. Bulgargaz is ready to pay in advance for no
the Klaipeda facility is indeed a potential The Croatian government and MOL are more than half of the natural gas that would
target, the government is taking extraordinary the two main shareholders of INA. be supplied.
measures to protect it. In August, USKOK, arrested five people Bulgargaz already called three tenders
“In military terms, every such facility is suspected of reselling natural gas that for LNG earlier in September for supply
high-risk and must be given military and belonged to INA, causing damages worth between November 2022 and December
intelligence attention. It is a target for all HRK800mn (€113mn). 2023. However, the requested amount of
military adversaries,” energy expert Saulius The Hungarian members of the former LNG would not be enough to cover the
Kutas tells LRT.lt. management board resigned shortly after country’s consumption along with the Azeri
The Klaipeda LNG terminal case, however, the scandal broke, while the Croatians were gas delivered through the Greece-Bulgaria
is different from the incident at sea off the given a deadline to do the same. However, interconnector, which has received the last
coasts of Sweden and Denmark. as they have not filed their resignations, the document that would allow the start of full
“I wouldn’t think that there is such a threat supervisory board dismissed them, INA said operations as of October 1.
as in the open sea, in international waters. It in a statement on the website of the Zagreb
is difficult to get there from territorial waters Stock Exchange.
and the enclosed bay,” Kutas says about the The three Croatian members of the Report says Russian gas
terminal located in the Curonian Lagoon just management board were dismissed without
off the coast of Klaipeda. the right to severance pay. supplies to Europe via
The risk of air attacks on the terminal The scandal has been embarrassing for the
should be addressed, he adds. Croatian government as one of those arrested TurkStream now endangered
The expert hesitates to assess the potential in August – Damir Skugor, head of INA’s
damage that would be caused by a gas leak, if natural gas retail department – is a member Russia is reportedly taking the position
any. of Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic’s ruling that Western sanctions prevent it from
“It depends on how much gas there is. It HDZ party. maintaining the crucial TurkStream natural
is difficult to say, because it is not clear how Opposition parties in parliament called for gas pipeline that supplies Turkey, countries in
much gas would be in the terminal,” he says. Plenkovic’s resignation, but the prime minister the Balkans and Hungary.
Klaipedos Nafta (Klaipeda Oil), the state- enjoys a comfortable and stable majority in If the pipeline was to be shut down, it
owned company that manages the terminal, parliament, and it seems highly unlikely that would exacerbate Europe’s energy crisis,
notes that the level of security for the he will be forced out over the scandal. already this week worsened by mysterious
company’s entire infrastructure was increased explosions that have put three of the four
after Russia launched the invasion of Ukraine strands of the Nord Stream Russia-Germany
in February. Bulgargaz calls tender for two-pipeline system beyond repair.
Meanwhile, Energy Minister Dainius In a letter to managers of South Stream
Kreivys commented that the protection natural gas supply until end- Transport B.V. on September 14—obtained
of the terminal, in his opinion, should be by media outlet RFE/RL—company director
strengthened. 2023 Oleg Aksyutin ordered them to cease all work
“Since the war broke out, we have taken on TurkStream, including cancelling contracts
measures to strengthen the security: both in Bulgaria’s state-owned natural gas supplier with Western suppliers.
of our interconnections with Sweden, with Bulgargaz has called a tender for the supply of South Stream Transport B.V., a Dutch unit
Poland, and of the terminal [...] Now the traditional natural gas from November 2022 of Kremlin-controlled gas giant Gazprom that
question is whether we need to protect it even to the end of 2023, it said in a statement on its is responsible for operating the underwater
more strongly. In my opinion, there is a need website. Black Sea pipeline that provides a key
to do so,” Kreivys said, noting that discussions Bulgaria was almost completely dependent route for Turkey-bound and Balkans-and-
on this issue would continue, LRT.lt said. on Russia for its natural gas imports, but at Hungary-bound gas, was reported as saying
the end of April Gazprom stopped deliveries, that the Netherlands revoked its licence as of
after the former government of Kiril Petkov September 17.
refused to pay in roubles. In August, the “Suspend the execution of all contracts

Week 39 30•September•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P11