US gas push through Balkans focuses on Croatia LNG

The United States is expanding its role as Europe's leading LNG supplier, and energy analysts say Croatia's Krk terminal could help move more US gas into the Balkans, central Europe and possibly Ukraine.

Europe has accelerated plans to reduce reliance on Russian energy since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Russia still supplies about 12 percent of the European Union's gas imports, according to the European Council, but the bloc plans to ban them completely by the end of 2027.

Croatia's floating LNG terminal off the island of Krk has recently been upgraded and can now handle nearly 6.1 billion cubic metres, about two percent of the EU's annual gas consumption. Pipelines connect it to Hungary, allowing gas delivered to Croatia to move into central Europe.

The United States is already the EU's largest LNG source and is forecast to overtake Norway as the bloc's largest natural gas supplier in 2026, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.

Energy analyst Ivan Brodic said Washington was pushing for a gas interconnection between Bosnia and Croatia as part of an effort to reduce Russian involvement in the region's energy sector. The US-backed pipeline plan would link Bosnia to Krk and connect it to Europe's gas network.

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright earlier this year promoted the Trump Peace Pipelines Framework, a plan to expand energy infrastructure across central and eastern Europe. A State Department report submitted to Congress in May said dependence on Russian energy remained a strategic vulnerability in the region and that diversification, including with US sources, would support regional stability and prosperity.

LNG Croatia managing director Ivan Fugas said the Krk terminal's supply is fully booked until 2036. The terminal has operated since 2021 and Brussels funded nearly half of its cost of more than 230 million euros.

Ukraine's underground storage operator, Ukrtransgaz, presented analysis earlier this year saying Croatia's LNG terminal could provide the cheapest route to supply Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic have discussed energy supply and storage, but no official announcements have been made.

Fugas said Croatia would need pipeline upgrades to meet any new demand.