Nearly 3.3 million cubic meters of liquefied natural gas (LNG) has passed through the LNG floating terminal at Omisalj off the Croatian island of Krk since the facility became operational in early 2021. This includes more than 1.9 billion cubic metres delivered to the local Croatian market, state agency Hina said on Wednesday citing data from LNG Croatia, the terminal's state-owned operating company.

In almost 14 months since its January 2021 opening, 23 LNG transporting ships docked at the terminal. By country of origin, the largest amount of LNG came from the United States, followed by Nigeria, Qatar, Belgium, Trinidad and Tobago, Egypt, and France.

The terminal is capable of storing 2.6 billion cubic meters of liquefied gas, and LNG Croatia said that 85 percent of its total capacity has been successfully leased to other companies until 2027. Contracts to use the LNG terminal have been signed with the Croatian state-owned oil firm Ina, the national power board Hep, as well as private-owned energy companies MET Croatia Energy Trade, MVM CEEnergy Croatia, and PPD.

LNG Croatia told Hina that 95 percent of the gas imported via the terminal has “remained in Croatia.” In the first nine months of the terminal’s operation, from January to September 2021, 75 percent of the terminal’s regasification capacity has been utilized, LNG Croatia said, adding that the company’s financial results for 2021 would “surpass the profit planned,” without clarifying what the planned profit was.

In February 2021, not a single one LNG transport ship docked at the terminal, which LNG Croatia attributes to the higher demand and higher prices on Asian markets, which made LNG suppliers shift to supplying that continent. However, since early March 2021, all planned deliveries were right on schedule.

The first LNG tanker, called Tristar Ruby and sailing under the flag of Liberia, arrived at the Omisalj terminal off of Krk island carrying 143,000 cubic metres of LNG on 1 January 2021, marking the launch of the terminal’s commercial operation.

The terminal consists of a floating tanker ship permanently anchored off the coast of Krk, as well as onshore facilities with a connection to the Croatian gas pipeline network. The state-owned company LNG Croatia operating the system has 25 employees, and the ship itself is crewed by 60 seamen hired by the Norwegian company Golar.