PODGORICA (Montenegro), February 12 (SeeNews) – Montenegrin port operator Luka Bar [MNG:LUBA] is considering building a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal to handle imports of U.S. liquefied natural gas into Europe, local media quoted on Wednesday executive director Vladan Vucelic as saying.
"The spatial planning documentation for Bar port envisages the development of an LNG terminal, covering an area of 2 hectares," Vucelic said on Wednesday in an interview for daily Dnevne Novine.
Earlier this week, Steven Winberg, assistant secretary for fossil energy at the U.S. department of energy, said Bar port has the potential to become a hub for imports of U.S. LNG into Europe, as it is a well-positioned deep water port that can accommodate ships coming from the United States.
Winberg visted Luka Bar on February 6, Vucelic said.
Luka Bar may invest in the implementation of the project alone, or through some form of partnership, he noted.
Elsewhere in Southeast Europe (SEE), Montenegro's neighbour Croatia is building a 233.6 million euro ($255 million) LNG terminal on the Adriatic island of Krk. The terminal will have capacity to transport 2.6 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year into the national grid as from 2021.
Using its national transmission network, Croatia will be able to deliver gas from the Krk LNG terminal to fellow EU member states Slovenia, Italy and Hungary, as well as to non-EU Serbia and Montenegro. The terminal has been put on the lists of European Projects of Common Interest since 2013, given its strategic importance for the diversification of natural gas supplies to Central and Southeast Europe.
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