ZAGREB, 26 April 2022 - Economy Minister Tomislav Ćorić has made a decision allowing the state to fill the Okoli underground gas storage facility if those leasing it fail to do so, and they are not doing it for now as it is not cost-effective due to high gas procurement prices.
The decision was made based on an intervention plan to respond in time to potential gas supply disruptions, the ministry said on Tuesday, adding that the decision was proposed by a crisis management team established to monitor gas supply security.
The team has ordered that Okoli should be full at 90% of capacity at the start of the next heating system, by 1 November.
Those leasing the storage facility must fill 63% of capacity by 1 August, 68% by 1 September, 74% by 1 October, and 90% by 1 November.
They now have to inform the Economy Ministry how much of the capacity they plan to use and if they do not plan to use the capacity they leased, they lose the right to store gas at Okoli so that strategic gas reserves can be made. In that case, the state will have to find the resources to fill the freed capacity, most probably via state-owned companies.
The entire capacity of Okoli has been leased, but due to gas price hikes, it is not being filled. This has caused concern as filling takes four months and given the uncertainty of regular supply, it is essential that filling begins on time, it was said.
Okoli's capacity is 553 million cubic metres.
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