Croatia and Hungary signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on a common approach towards the construction of a gas interconnection between the two countries.
The MoU foresees the establishment of bi-directional gas transmission in three phases. During the first phase, a short-term measure will allow for an interruptible physical return using the Hungarian's compressor station. In the second phase, by the end of March 2019, the first compressor station in Croatia will be built, while additional infrastructure to increase capacity will be built in the third phase. The third phase will only be made possible if new sources of gas are secured, through projects such as Croatia's planned LNG terminal or the Ionian Adriatic Pipeline (IAP) development.
The Hungarian minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Péter Szijjártó, called the document strategically important, arguing that the development of gas infrastructure in the south "seriously lags behind" the development of infrastructure in the north, noting that Hungary currently has no access to gas from the south. The minister noted that both the Hungarian-Croatian and Hungarian-Romanian interconnectors only supply gas in one direction, from Hungary to Croatia and Romania, respectively.
The letter of intent was signed by András Aradszki, minister of state for energy affairs at the Ministry of National Development, and Mario Šiljeg, Croatian state secretary for energy affairs.
Source: www.seenews.com and https://bbj.hu