Leading International Gas Event In Southeast Europe Was Held In Opatija From 16 To 18 June

After two years of the coronavirus pandemic, favourable epidemiological conditions and the easing of restrictions limiting the holding of meetings have finally come about, meaning that gas and energy professionals from Croatia and abroad have again gathered at their traditional destination on Kvarner –beautiful Opatija. In adhering to epidemiological measures, which stipulates maintaining certain distances between those present in closed spaces, the conference programme was transmitted live online from the main congress hall into the other three halls, in which simultaneous spoken translations of the meeting were provided in one of the halls.

Over the three days in Opatija, approx. 370 attendees met from 18 European countries, including the USA, Canada and China. The event was attended by gas and energy professionals, managers from leading European energy companies, scientists from renowned Croatian and European universities, representatives from the transport industry, as well as gas suppliers, producers and distributers, including representatives from large industrial gas consumers, representatives from manufacturers and gas equipment representatives domestically and abroad. Over 150 various gas and energy companies and organisations were represented (55 from abroad), with 24 exhibitors (9 from abroad) presenting their products and services in the exhibition area in front of the congress hall.

The meeting was organised under the high patronage of the Croatian Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, Croatian Ministry of Physical Planning, Construction and State Assets, and the Croatian Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure. The meeting was also supported by the following sponsors: INA – Industrija nafte d.d., Plinacro d.o.o., HEP d.d., Monter-strojarske montaže d.d., LNG Croatia LLC, Prvo plinarsko društvo d.o.o., Me?imurje-plin d.o.o. and EEX, while the co-organisers were Podzemno skladište plina d.o.o., EVN Croatia plin d.o.o., Termoplin d.o.o. Varaždin and ATO Inženjering d.o.o. Over the three days of the professional gathering, a total of 42 scientific and professional papers were presented (of which, 2 were invited to hold a speech and 9 papers were included in the poster session), 13 roundtable discussions held covering 10 topical units, and 3 interesting panel discussions were organised.

At the opening of the gathering, the President of the Croatian Gas Association, Assist Prof Dr Dalibor Pudi? extended his initial greetings to invitees and those present. He extended his appreciation to all those providing high patronage, those acting as sponsors, co-organisers, participants and journalists who contributed to holding the gathering and without which the entire event would not be possible. Moreover, he pointed out since the last held gathering in Opatija, Croatia can boast of having two new liquid natural gas filling stations and two new compressed natural gas filling stations, as well as having completed one of the largest projects concerning which the gathering has been addressing for more than 30 years – the LNG terminal on the island of Krk. He pointed out that the Croatian Gas Association supports decarbonisation and that natural gas combined with other gases providing less emissions will have an important role in decarbonisation, where the proof is to be found in the fact that the gathering has for more than ten years presented papers related to hydrogen. The President of the Croatian Gas Association greeted dignitaries and all participants, and then proceeded to invite the envoy of the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, Kristina Posilovi?, to officially open the gathering.

Kristina Posilovi?, advisor to the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, Tomislav ?ori?, opened the 36th International Scientific & Expert Meeting of Gas Professionals. At the start of the talk, she expressed her satisfaction with initial operation of the company LNG Croatia LLC, its commercial activities and efforts in improving services. She also addressed the new European legislation mentioning that the proportion of electrical energy produced from renewable sources in the EU energy mix during last year for the first time exceeded production from fossil fuels. She also cited data relating to the fall in consumption of electricity and gas compared to 2019 in the EU, as well as gas production last year decreasing by almost 23%, which is the situation in Croatia too. She especially pointed out the importance of the European Green Deal, which provides guidelines for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and finally leading to climate neutrality, where importance is given to the potential of hydrogen, and for which the European Commission has prepared a revision of current rules on gas and hydrogen in order to ensure the planned reduction of CO2 emissions. Also, the package, which includes a revision of the directive and regulation on gas, is an effort by the European Commission to encourage decarbonisation of the gas market and the introduction of gases from renewable sources onto the market, while eliminating regulatory obstacles. These future activities by the EU send a clear message that, despite numerous social challenges, it continues to count on gas and the multipurpose potential of constructed and associated infrastructure, said Posilovi?.

Bojan Linardi? from the Ministry of Physical Planning, Construction and State Assets highlighted the energy goals of the EU for buildings. Specifically, a very indicative piece of data is that 83% of buildings in Croatia fail to meet stipulated requirements of thermal protection and have large thermal losses. Accordingly, the percentage of consumption in buildings in terms of total consumption is greater by 40%. He emphasised the importance of the need to increase the energy efficiency of such buildings, where the energy renewal of residential and public buildings is to become one of the main preconditions for achieving EU green goals. Implementing energy efficiency measures in the construction industry is expected to result in a reduction of CO2 emissions by 2030 to more than 36%, which will provide overall energy savings in other sectors.

The President of the HEP Management Board, Frane Barbari?, pointed out in his introductory note that since the gathering in Opatija, which is the most important event in the gas profession in Croatia, confirmation of the gas sector as having an essential and inevitable role in the low carbon energy transition is expected, where HEP d.d. will also provide its full contribution. Also, the company HEP-Plin, as an important stakeholder in the Croatian gas sector, and after acquiring a number of smaller distributers and suppliers (in Virovitica, Vukovar, Krapina and Daruvar), has become the largest gas distributer in Croatia considering the length of the network. He mentioned that HEP has also become a large gas consumer due to the large quantities it utilises in its thermal power stations, which is also in the plans for the future period, and the use of hydrogen in those facilities is also currently under consideration.

Member of the Management Board at the company Plinacro d.o.o., Daria Krsti?evi?, highlighted with gratification the role of the national operator in the gas transport system which last year constructed the Omišalj-Zlobin gas pipeline, connecting the LNG terminal on Krk onto the Croatian gas system. Also, Plinacro has ensured two-way transport on gas pipelines towards Slovenia and Hungary, as requested by the EU, and is intensively preparing construction of the southern gas interconnection between Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina in order to increase efficiency of the gas transport system and create conditions for expanding the gas distribution network in the southern region of Croatia, said Daria Krsti?evi?, member of the Management Board. As a responsible corporate entity, Plinacro is intensively following new trends and preparing the technical foundations for transporting hydrogen through its gas pipelines.

At the start of his address to participants, Nikola Mišeti?, operational director of Oil and Gas Exploration and Production at INA – Industrija nafte d.d., pointed out the perennial trend in decreasing production occurring in increasingly old gas fields. Consequently, INA has decided to accelerate certain projects in the exploration of new gas fields because it intends to significantly increase production in Croatia and abroad. In the coming autumn, INA plans to drill two new wells in the Adriatic, and then further expand exploration. On mainland Croatia, in Me?imurje, INA conducts exploration independently. On transborder concessions INA is with Hungary’s MOL, while in Egypt it has received five concessions in the Nile delta, in an gas-rich area, said the director Nikola Mišeti?.

The Director of the company Podzemno skladište plina (PSP), Vlado Vlaši?, said that the national operator of the gas storage system in previous storage years had flawlessly performed the fundamental task of not having a single delay in fulfilling all contractual obligations towards uses, and in line with their nominations. Also, he detailed the development investment part of business activities and informed the gathered representatives of the professional public that PSP on 7 May 2021 obtained from the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Energy a permit for storing natural gas at the Grubišno polje exploitation field. Vlado Vlaši? informed those present that Okoli underground gas storage is currently in the process of injecting gas and on 16 June 2021 the facility had approx. 219 million cubic metres of gas or approx. 2100 kW. Though Underground Gas Storage has been making intensive plans for the next heating season, all its efforts and investments are already directed to the new regulation period from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2027. Hence, Amendments to the Rules on Use of the Gas Storage System have been in force since 27 May 2021, for which Croatian Energy Regulatory Agency (HERA) provided its approval after the public discussion.

Siniša Kova? from the company LNG Croatia LLC described the schedule for commencing operation of the LNG terminal on the island of Krk. According to his statements, at the start of this year, the terminal received approval from large global energy companies. Specifically, until now, seven specialised ships with a total of 600 million cubic metres of gas have arrived onto Krk, which means that the terminal has become the largest gas entry point in Croatia and is also a reliable and stable supply source of the particular energy. The terminal operates in a safe manner, reliably and without any difficulties.

After extending his greetings to attendees, the President of the Croatian Gas Association (CGA), Assist Prof Dr Dalibor Pudi?, pointed out that approx. 61% of the consumption of primary energy in the world is met from coal and oil, whereas only 5% of energy sources which have less emissions than gas. He emphasised that today’s world emission of CO2 amounts to approx. 35 billion tons. The fact is that an increasing number of countries are closing down their coal burning power stations, thereby opening great opportunities for the use of renewal energy sources and gas in order to switch from oil and coal as quickly as possible. The President of the Croatian Gas Association provided interesting data on hydrogen production, where 48% of it is obtained from natural gas, 30% from oil and 18% from coal, and only 4% through electrolysis for electricity. Hence, there is much room for hydrogen to become greener. Assist Prof Dalibor Pudi?, PhD thinks that, despite the intensive expansion of renewable energy sources and the goal of the EU to become climate neutral by 2050, natural gas as a fossil fuel with least CO2 emissions continues to have a good future and conditions for increasing consumption.

Gas will continue to be an important form of energy in the future, said Andrea Stegher, current vice-president and future president of the International Gas Union (IGU), in his speech titled “The Future of Gas and Gas Infrastructure in the EU with an Emphasis on a Low Carbon Gases”. He then pointed out the great importance of innovation in reducing gas emissions (foremost CO2) which causes global warming and climate change, as well as achieving the planned goals of the EU where by 2050 the EU will become carbon neutral. The planned blending of natural gas with hydrogen will undoubtedly take place in the future, thereby further reducing gas emissions during consumption. He also noted that global gas consumption continues to increase, for instance, the annual increase in gas consumption in China exceeds Croatia’s total consumption.

The second invited talk was held by Ariel Cohen, PhD, a senior fellow from the Atlantic Council and director of the Energy, Growth and Security Program before the International Tax and Investment Center. He questions justification of the decision by the US President, Joe Bidden, to place a moratorium on new land leases owned by federal states for exploration and production of oil and gas on land and at sea. Though the decision is temporary, Cohen thinks that it will have a long-term unfavourable impact on American production, especially if the minister of US Department of the Interior declares it as permanent. Specifically, shale deposits are important for American production of oil and gas and enabled the US to achieve status of a large gas exporter. That is why Cohen pointed out that this new situation may again make American consumers dependent on imports and that many Americans may lose their jobs. On the other hand, he sees carbon neutrality by 2050 in terms of the construction of new nuclear power plants or increasing gas consumption. He also highlighted that, from an American perspective, the EU greatly relies on imports of Russian gas.

In the next talk, Laura Bosetti from Eurogas, an association representing the gas sector before EU institutions, mentioned that the energy industry will have key role in commencing reductions of gas emissions which affect global warming and climate change, but what needs to be considered is the cost of investments on the EU’s path to planned decarbonisation by 2050. Hydrogen is becoming increasingly important in reducing emissions, hence in the coming period the European Commission will surely focus on its use.

This talk was later expounded upon by Ljubiša Petkovi? from the German company Siemens Energy AG, with the thesis concerning the role of natural gas as a form of energy with the least emissions, and which should become the bridge towards decarbonisation of industries, with a clear tendency that synergy of gas and green hydrogen will contribute to meeting industry needs in the next 30 years. He pointed out that pilot projects for such operational facilities already exist, but the current problem is the high price of the mentioned form of energy.

Manufacturers of heating equipment must adapt to new energy trends, which will be a big challenge in the future, cautioned the director of Valliant Croatia, Mario Opa?ak. Which technologies will become dominant, which forms of energy will dominate, with what speed and in what direction will the heating equipment market be transformed? Answers to these questions definitely require investments in research and development, while new production capacities are a precondition for survival. Some of the novelties which he presented from the company’s production programme include a new generation of gas condensation devices and the announcement of soon commencing construction of the largest Valliant factory for producing heat pumps.

The director of the company Viessmann Croatia, Vladimir Turina, announced a new era in hydrogen use. Some of their products are already for using natural gas mixed with 20-30% hydrogen. He pointed out that the production of so called green hydrogen, with neutral characteristics in terms of greenhouse gases, continues to be expensive, so it should be used where it is most effective. He also announced many Viessmann products that use clean hydrogen, which will come onto the market in 2-3 years, but cautioned that he expects the products to be more expensive than existing devices and expects government incentives.

Ante Prusina, from the company Weishaupt Zagreb, showed the possibilities of using gas from renewable energy sources in burners and heating systems. The first step towards fully transferring to gases sourced from renewable energy sources in burners and heating systems is to gradually introduce them into the combustion technique. This is possible even now when methane, hydrogen, and certain other synthetic gases can be mixed in specific proportions with natural gas in burners and condensation boilers which are currently in the production program of Weishaupt.

Massimo Pardocchi from Bilfinger presented the production program of the company and energy integrated solutions for achieving zero emissions. Bilfinger is able to ensure the engineering, design and construction of facilities and infrastructure aimed at reducing, capturing and storing carbon, including the integration of hydrogen production which he presented using an example from the Netherlands.

During the media conference organised for journalists, the President of the Croatian Gas Association (CGA), Assist Prof, Dalibor Pudi?, PhD said that there is still room for the growth of gas consumption in Croatia, as well as the reduction of harmful emissions of CO2 from replacement forms of energy. He especially pointed out the possibility of further developing the gas infrastructure and noted the trend of a larger transit of LNG through Croatia, which also implies the possibility of lower gas prices for the citizens of Croatia. What is especially important is that from 1 April 2021, citizens will be able to purchase gas from suppliers of their choice on the liberalised market. In the process, some companies, obliged to provide gas supplies as a public service, have retained their supply area, some have expanded, while others have lost out. Nonetheless, local companies that are no longer able to provide public services due to not being selected in public tenders have concluded market-based agreements with domicile households. Hence, at the start of April, 86.4% of households have used public services directed at supplying gas, where 13.6% of the gas was bought under market conditions. When talking about trends in consolidation and acquisitions in gas distribution and the supply of such forms of energy, Assist Prof Dr Dalibor Pudi? said that he expects a continuation of the consolidation process. Previously, almost every city and town, as well as municipality had its own distribution, with prices decided by local self-government units, and local authorities are no longer able to influence prices because the Croatian Energy Regulatory Agency (HERA) determines it. The President of the Croatian Gas Association (CGA) also pointed out that in recent times, two LNG filling stations for vehicles and two CNG filling stations have been built in Croatia. However, he believes that we should be looking at the example set by neighbouring Italy where there are over a thousand of these filling stations and approx. one million vehicles running on natural gas. As to a media question of whether natural gas as a fossil fuel has any future or will it be replaced with hydrogen or methane, the President of the CGA replied that hydrogen will certainly have an important role in the future, but as to which source it comes from is also important. The only so-called green hydrogen is hydrogen produced from electricity generated from renewable sources, which for now covers a relatively small proportion of new demand for energy. That is why the future of green hydrogen will not have an important role, unless the category includes hydrogen produced from electricity generated at thermal power plants using systems for capturing and storing CO2.

The President of the Hydrocarbon Agency, Marijan Krpan, in his presentation cautioned against the continually decrease in reserves of domestic gas over the last 15 years – a negative trend that is continuing. The underlying reason is the age of the gas fields, which is especially evident in the north Adriatic, and also insufficient discoveries of significant hydrocarbon deposits. Furthermore, final exploitation of gas from land fields is less than that of global practice. Given the necessity of using gas in the transitional period towards green forms of energy, there is a need to discover new gas fields while adhering to the highest standards of environmental protection, which is possible with modern technology.

In an interesting first panel discussion titled Projects in the Exploitation and Production of Natural Gas, Marijan Krpan pointed out that exploitation and production of natural gas in Croatia certainly does have a future in the energy mix leading up to 2030 and given that after that period it is difficult to make predictions, it should be utilised as much as possible in this and the next decade. He also provided insight into the fact that the International Energy Association (IEA) and one of the largest petroleum companies, BP, are against further expanding exploitation and production of fossil fuels.

Some new gas deposits in Croatia have already been discovered and currently in progress is the process of utilisation, while discoveries of additional fields are also expected because representatives of INA have announced setting up a number of new wells. The Director of Petroleum Upstream Development at INA – Industrija nafte d.d., Jerko Jeli? Balta, said that gas in Croatia has a position on the market, especially as a replacement for coal and fuel oil in thermal power stations for which further consideration should be given. This replacement process will depend on the development technology, as well as prices of hydrogen and biomethane, hence it is essential to continue natural gas exploration and production projects. At the same time, INA is endeavouring to revitalise some old gas fields in order to increase production.

Prof Dr Daria Karasalihovi? Sedlar from the Faculty of Mining, Geology and Petroleum Engineering, pointed out that Croatia should utilise its already discovered fields because hydrogen will probably become an important form of energy only after 2040. Consideration is also given to the possibility of storing hydrogen in exhausted land and sea gas fields, but this will require much research and investment in developing technologies. She added that they have conducted at the faculty research into the possibility of utilising gas platforms and deposits in the Adriatic once gas deposits are exhausted.

Robert Bošnjak from Plinacro gave a presentation on the potential offered form the Southern Gas Corridor as part of an energy system for a fair transition of the Western Balkans. He presented the importance of guidelines for implementing the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans and an analysis of possibilities from the Southern Gas Corridor, of which the Southern Interconnection for Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina is an integral part, as support in the possible transition from a coal-based energy system to a green one.

Siniša Kova?, from LNG Croatia, highlighted that the LNG Terminal on Krk was completed towards the end of last year, despite the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic and earthquakes. Though many were sceptical, the final outcome showed that the terminal has become commercially viable, because a number of domestic and foreign companies have already reserved a majority of its capacity for the first seven years. Our terminal fits into the EU’s efforts to diversify sources and directions of natural gas supplies, especially given that it is one of the endpoints of the north-south gas corridor, as well as one of the prioritised projects for connecting Central and Southeast Europe in terms of energy, and is also harmonised with the EU strategy for LNG and the storage of gas. That is why the EU has supported its construction with 101.4 million euros.

Plinacro successfully completed construction of the main Zlobin-Omišalj gas pipeline as part of the LNG Terminal project on the island of Krk. Project Manager, Aleksandar Karee, explained all phases of construction which were affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

Furthermore, Branka Belamari? from Plinacro, spoke of the guidelines and mechanisms in implementing an energy transition of the European Union with a special emphasis on the gas sector. As one of the key document, she focused on the Hydrogen Strategy for Climate-Neutral Europe.

H2 Small scale facilities are part of the production program at the company Siemens d.o.o., Danijel Bukša presented the potential of such investments. The technology for facilities of the future is where the focus should be. He noted that chains of the hydrogen energy industry and the LNG industry are naturally linked. Hydrogen energy, he added, is not a competitor nor revolutionist in the LNG industry, but instead a promoter in the use of natural gas, whereas the LNG industry has the potential and advantage for developing the hydrogen energy industry. Both LNG and hydrogen, he noted, are sources of ‘clean energy’ in supplying fuels for production and transport.

Gergely Molnar from the International Energy Agency (IEA) presented an overview of trends on the global gas market. Due to difficulties posed by the pandemic, global demand for gas fell last year by approx. 2.5%, which is approx. 100 billion cubic metres. This is the largest recorded fall in history to date, however the demand for gas for electricity production remained the same due to changes in fuel. The globalisation of gas trading advanced with an increase in improved liquidity, whereas prices underwent record falls and extreme volatility. The crisis caused by the pandemic and a well-supplied market halted significant investments, while gas market reforms and initiatives for clean gas policies peaked on the main consumer markets. The expectation is that global demand for gas will recover, i.e., compensate levels from 2019 so that gas consumption this year may probably increase by about 3.5%, as announced in Paris.

Pál Ságvári, from the Hungarian Regulatory Body for Energy and Utility Services, said that the Hungarian market is interested in the most effective operation of terminals and is ready to explore common advantages of this new source of gas supply. Therefore, he proposes commencing development of a regional gas market, and for the terminal to become commercially attractive and more accessible to other countries in the region – including Ukraine. Creating the LNG corridor from Croatia through Hungary towards the greater region may also lead to justifying terminal capacity increases, better prices and a more successful terminal business, added Ságvári.

Developing the regional market requires the collaboration among our regulatory authorities, transport system operators and the gas market, said Daniel Garai, president of the management board at Central Eastern European Gas Exchange. He called upon stakeholders to elaborate their visions and maps of possible market integrations, given that it is also essential to consider common advantages and benefits. He mentioned that the Hungarian regulatory body is ready to commence joint action and that such collaboration is frequent such as with, for instance, the electricity market. The benefits of such market integration is well known within the EU. He also referred to Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Finland which have already combined their gas markets for the common benefit.

Tomislav Ben?i? from Termoplin, presented a system for mandatory energy efficiency and complexity as well as legal obligations. The Energy Efficiency Act has brought about new obligations for gas suppliers. This will lead to cost increases in their business operations, which might very well lead to increases in gas prices and negatively impact their competitiveness.

On the panel discussion titled Current State and Trends on the Natural Gas Market and Future Expectations, which focused on development potentials of the LNG Terminal on Krk and its role in the future gas infrastructure of Europe, Hrvoje Krhen, director of LNG Croatia, pointed out that 1.5 billion cubic metres of gas had already passed through the terminal this year, of which 600 million was directed to consumers in Croatia.

Sre?ko Ezgeta, president of the management board at the Gradska plinara Bjelovar and president of the Association of Gas Suppliers and Distributers before the Croatian Chamber of Economy, added that the European Council has held discussions on adopting a framework for accepting strategic projects which the EU will finance with 5.5 billion euros by 2027. He asked whether consideration is given perhaps to using European money to build a new gas pipeline towards Slovenia, expand the terminal in the future or adapt the existing gas pipelines for transporting hydrogen. Krhen replied that the terminal began operating just a few months ago, hence the priority is to now expand the use of LNG in maritime and road transport. He also said that there are stipulated standards for transporting hydrogen which must be met.

Marko Blaževi? from HEP-Trgovina added that hydrogen is a form of energy which awaits us in the coming decades, but at this time there is no need to place emphasis on it at the moment. But in order to be able to transport it in the future, technical rules should already be set up so that new equipment which will be incorporated will conform also for transporting hydrogen, he recommended.

Tomislav Jurekovi?, president of the Governing Council at the Croatian Energy Regulatory Agency (HERA), also pointed out the existence of the European Regulation, which no longer enables financing of infrastructure for natural gas aided by European channels, but permits financing of gas pipelines for transporting hydrogen.

Adriana Grzunov, from the Croatian Chamber of Economy, in the introduction of her talk presented the latest overviews of emissions from the transport industry along with incentive measures in various developed countries of the EU. She also provided an overview of the actual situation with the utilisation of natural gas in transport in Croatia, warning of the possibility of increased consumption. She pointed out that the EU has about 4,000 CNG filling stations and about 350 LNG filling stations.

The terminal for LNG on the island of Krk will have an important role in the future development of utilising LNG as a fuel in maritime and road transport in the Republic of Croatia, said Ivan Kapu?ija from LNG Croatia. He highlighted the potential of the regional market for LNG as a fuel for maritime, road, river and railway transport. The first so-called LNG ship-to-ship transfer for an Italian buyer has already taken place from the LNG Terminal on the island of Krk, confirming the commercial potential of the terminal in the area of maritime bunkering. The opening of the filling station for heavy trucks is planned for the start of next year.

The panel discussion titled Development of Sustainable Transport powered by CNG, LNG and LPG was addressed by a number of experts who pointed out the need for greater use of natural gas in transport in Croatia as an economically and ecologically suitable transitional fuel, which has also been recognised in the 2030 Croatian Energy Development Strategy. Croatia has sufficient proprietary reserves and production capacities to meet national requirements for gas supplies in transport, where the increased use of gas, which is to replace benzine and diesel fuels, will reduce CO2 emissions in the respective sector from the current 95% in road transport and almost 99% in maritime transport. That is why EU member states have largely provided incentives for the use of natural gas in transport in the form of subsidies for procurement of vehicles, co-financing the construction of filling stations and subsidies for motorway tolls.

Nikica Dujmovi? from Gradska plinara Zagreb spoke about the pandemic and earthquakes as new challenges facing gas distributers. After the earthquake, parts of the distribution system were for certain period of time, due to impassability of roadways and damage to buildings, were inaccessible or accessible at some risk to employees, whereas epidemiological measures due to the coronavirus made everyday work and the scheduling of operational personal difficult. These situations imposed on distribution system operators the need to revise existing rules and pass new guidelines for modernisation of the surveillance and management system within the gas system for future crisis situations. Nikica Dujmovi? mentioned that the specific steps necessary to improve the system in order to enable better and more effective remote management whenever necessary. An interesting fact is that damage from the two largest earthquakes, happened mostly due to bending and movement, and occurred only in internal gas installations in a number of damaged buildings. However, given that Gradska plinara Zagreb uses only steel piping with large mechanical rigidity, there was no cracking of pipes or gas meters, nor did gas leaks occur. In most cases, gas was switched off for consumers on account of damage to chimneys, and to avoid possible gas poisoning.

Possible uses of bio LNG in the so-called skid-units was presented by Nikolas Bruyas from the company Prodeval which is specialised for this type of production and technology. Bio LNG will certainly have an important role in the future of transport as a fuel produced from renewable energy sources, while examples of good practices with skid-units already exist in neighbouring Italy.

An interesting presentation was held with an overview of the EU and US legislative frameworks in relation to capturing, utilization and storage of CO2, and was prepared by a group of experts from the Faculty of Mining, Geology and Petroleum Engineering in Zagreb. Filip Vodopi? warned that the EU Green Deal obliges a reduction of greenhouse gases by 2030 by 50% with respect to 1990 levels and achieving climate neutrality by 2050. That is why the technology for carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) is imposed as a potentially strong means in combating climate change in the period of transitioning to decarbonisation of gas. In his words, Croatia has potential to construct underground CO2 storages in a number of locations, and the technology can also be used in the Plomin thermal power stations, the only such facility in Croatia that uses coal as a fuel. It involves an expensive system which, according to experts, becomes economically viable only if the price of emission units (permitting emission of one tone of CO2 within a certain time period) in the European ETS increases from 80 to 100 euros per ton. That price since 2018 has been continually increasing, whereas on 22 May 2021 it was at about 52 euros. However, by mid-June it had fallen to 45 euros per ton.

As to the question why, despite the CCUS technology, many countries are closing down coal-powered thermal power stations (inflicting financial loses in the process), or as announcing that they will do so, Vodopi? replied that due to the application of such technologies, electricity prices have increased, hence the question as to whether buyers are prepared to pay higher prices. He mentioned that the EU, on the other hand, has an innovation fund from which it can obtain grants for financing CCUS technologies, and the money can be ensured from some other European funds as well. He pointed out that the country selling its approved emission units from the ETS to anyone releasing CO2 must invest half of the money into technologies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which should also be taken into account. In addition, the country has to introduce additional incentives for the use of such technologies. According to the scenario of accelerated transition from the Croatian Low Carbon Strategy, CCUS technologies must be used in thermal power stations running on gas and in the cement industry. Given that this has still not been accepted perhaps the CCUS technology can also be applied at the Plomin thermal power station, which would enable it to continue operating if it collects all CO2 which it releases, said Vodopi?. These are questions which the profession should debate in detail.

Igor Grozdani?, MSc, from the Zagreb company Turbomehanika, added that some European countries, such as Poland and Germany, continue to preserve their coal mines and oil mining, due to the large number of jobs, hence neither coal nor natural gas will be eliminated from European policies and its markets. It involves an out of the ordinary political issue because all key elements must be equally presented: technology, the ecology, climate, energy and economics. He highlighted that the EU not long ago increased the obligatory share of renewable energy sources in transport from 14% by 2030, whereas in Croatia that proportion is currently a maximum of 1.5%. If natural gas is no longer to be used, we will not be able to achieve the obligatory 14%, however it is good that non-adherence to the obligation currently does not inflict penalties. We recall that in 2018, nine Croatian cities bought 70 or so buses running on diesel fuel, non on gas, electricity or hydrogen. Currently, the EU is moving towards clear fuels and has announced that in the future it will subsidise only buses running on hydrogen or electricity, said Grozdani?.

At the end of the large three-day gas evebt, Assist Prof Dalibor Pudi?, PhD, president of the CGA, extended his appreciation to all participants, moderators and sponsors on a successfully held conference & exhibition which has shown that the energy paradigm for gas is quickly changing as is its role in the period transitioning to low-carbon neutrality, especially when it will be mixed with other gases such as biogas and hydrogen. The new 37th International Scientific Expert Meeting of Gas Professionals will be held on 4-6 May 2022 in Opatija, with an alterntive period taking place in mid-June, depending on the epidemiological situation.