Northern Adriatic News

Exxon Mobil Corp is considering selling its majority stake in Italy's main regasification terminal as part of a wider strategy to divest from non-core assets, the company said in a statement on Wednesday. The Rovigo liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal is owned by Exxon's subsidiary ExxonMobil Italiana Gas (70.7%), QatarEnergy subsidiary Qatar Terminal Company Limited (22%) and Snam Spa SRG.MI (7.3%). Snam, an Italian gas grid operator, has the first right of refusal should a partner decide to divest.

Italy plans to boost its liquefied natural gas (LNG) import capacity to 27 billion cubic metres (bcm) from nearly 17 bcm currently as it seeks to completely replace Russian gas supplies following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.In 2021, Moscow provided Rome with 29 bcm of gas via pipelines, equal to around 40% of Italy's total imports but Russian supplies have fallen in recent months to around 10% of total imports. Italy, which can now count on three LNG terminals, has mandated gas grid operator Snam SRG.MI to buy and set up two additional floating storage and regasification units (FSRU) near the cities of Piombino and Ravenna.A timely start for the Piombino FSRU is crucial to allow Italy to fill gas storage facilities in time for winter 2023…

Croatia's liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal on the northern Adriatic island of Krk began operations on Friday amid the first delivery of gas, said the company which runs the unit."LNG tanker Tristar Ruby anchored with 143,000 cubic meters of gas which signifies the beginning of the commercial use of the terminal," LNG Hrvatska director Hrvoje Krhen told the state news agency Hina.According to the company, the unloading of gas, delivered from the United States, will take place until Jan.

The Croatian government said on Thursday it would guarantee loans of up to 150 million kuna ($23 million) to keep one of the country's biggest shipyards afloat and give it time to find a strategic long-term partner.The 3.Maj shipyard in the northern Adriatic port of Rijeka is owned by Croatia's biggest shipbuilding group Uljanik whose other shipyard in the port of Pula has already been placed into bankruptcy procedure.Under EU state aid rules, the government cannot provide financial…

The Croatian government said on Thursday it would help a troubled shipyard owned by Uljanik , the country's largest shipbuilder, resume production.The government, which owns a 25% stake in Uljanik, said in March that it would not back a proposed restructuring plan for the group due to the financial burden it would place on the state.However, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Thursday that the government was willing to support 3.Maj, which is located in the northern Adriatic port of Rijeka and is one of the group's two shipyards, because it did not have as big a debt burden."Unlike Uljanik, the 3.Maj is not an overly indebted company and there is an interest in the construction of new ships…

The Croatian subsidiary of International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) at the Port of Rijeka, Adriatic Gate Container Terminal (AGCT) is set to realize a comprehensive expansion plan in the period up to mid-2020.AGCT, in cooperation with the Rijeka Port Authority,  has drawn up plans for a two-phase dredging scheme with the first phase fully-approved, entailing the dredging of 130 meters of quay over its Berths 1 and 2. This will facilitate the berthing of vessels with a length overall (LOA) of up to 400 meters. The work will be completed by mid-2020, and will provide 438 meters of berth with a depth alongside of 15 meters.Financing for the infrastructure works has been provided by the EU and PRA…

Italian infrastructure investment fund F2i announced its entry into the ports sector with the acquisition of the Porto di Carrara Spa (PDC Spa) Group, which owns port terminals at Carrara, Marghera and Chioggia.The Group, which each year handles around 5 million tons of solid bulk cargoes, is one of the main Italian port hubs and operates in the strategic sector of supplying some of the key Italian industrial segments, said a press release from the biggest Italian infrastructure fund with around 5 billion euro in assets under management.Most of the steel supplies for the districts of Brescia, Verona and Vicenza pass through the terminals of the PDC Group…

Croatia's ailing shipyard in the northern Adriatic city of Pula was placed into bankruptcy by a commercial court on Monday after an almost year-long effort to keep it afloat.The shipyard belongs to Uljanik, Croatia's largest shipbuilding group, which also owns another troubled dock in the northern Adriatic city of Rijeka. A decision on the shipyard in Rijeka is scheduled for June 5.The Pula shipyard has an outstanding debt of 164.8 million kuna ($25 million). Local media reported that it has 1…

A delegation from a leading Chinese shipbuilding company has arrived in Croatia for talks about a possible investment in the country's largest shipbuilder Uljanik, which is struggling to avoid bankruptcy.Officials from the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC) met Croatia's Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and his economic team on Monday and will visit Uljanik's docks in the northern Adriatic later this week."After the visit to the docks we will give full and serious consideration to this matter," CSIC's Chief Executive Hu Wenming told reporters. He said the delegation included lawyers and investment bankers to advise on any investment.Uljanik…

A court in Croatia on Wednesday postponed a bankruptcy ruling for the country's biggest shipbuilding group Uljanik until May 13, as the government tried to delay activation of state guarantees to a customer for late delivery of a vessel.The commercial court in the northwestern town of Pazin had already delayed its ruling from March and the decision in May should be final. Bankruptcy would threaten the jobs of around 3,000 workers.Uljanik, which owns two shipyards in the northern Adriatic cities of Pula and Rijeka and is 25 percent owned by the state, has been working to stave off bankruptcy due to liquidity problems that began in 2017.The…

The Croatian government said on Thursday it would not back a restructuring plan for the country's biggest shipbuilding group Uljanik due to the financial burden on the state and doubts the proposal could turn the company's fortunes around.If no other restructuring plan emerges soon, a local commercial court will deliver a ruling on bankruptcy within weeks, threatening the jobs of almost 3000 workers.Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic told a cabinet session that the proposed restructuring…

Twelve people were arrested in Croatia on Tuesday on suspicion of causing over one billion kuna ($152.16 million) in financial damage to the country's biggest shipbuilding group Uljanik and the state budget, the interior minister said.Uljanik, which is 25 percent state-owned and operates two shipyards in the northern Adriatic cities of Pula and Rijeka, has been battling to stave off bankruptcy due to liquidity problems that began in 2017. Workers are currently on strike, seeking unpaid wages."This morning the police began action during which 12 people were arrested…

Metal Shark Expands Internationally with New Croatia Engineering Facility.Shipbuilder Metal Shark has established a foothold across the Atlantic with the opening of a dedicated European engineering office.Metal Shark’s first location outside of the United States, “Metal Shark Croatia” is a new engineering facility recently opened in the city of Rijeka on Croatia’s northern Adriatic coast.The facility currently employs nearly 20 naval architects, machinery systems engineers, and…

The Greek port of Piraeus signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Italy’s port authorities from the cities of Venice and Chioggia.The agreement seeks to develop port services and promote increased trade flow between Europe, the Mediterranean and the Far East.The MoU was signed during a meeting between the chairman and CEO of Piraeus port Fu Chengqiu and the president of the Northern Adriatic Sea Port Authority (Venice and Chioggia) Pino Musolino.The MoU envisages cooperation in improving the exchange of best practices and knowhow in port management, particularly in IT, attracting investments and communications."The common target is to improve the performance of the two ports…

Croatia's troubled shipbuilder Uljanik said on Thursday it had chosen local rival Brodosplit as a strategic partner to restructure its operations.Uljanik, 25 percent owned by the state and with 3,500 employees, has been working to stave off bankruptcy due to liquidity problems that began in 2017. Workers staged strikes twice last year over unpaid wages."Uljanik has chosen Brodosplit as its strategic partner which will have an obligation to devise, in cooperation with Uljanik, a feasible restructuring plan…

Croatia's largest shipbuilder Uljanik, which is trying to attract investors to stay afloat, extended a due diligence process until late next week after drawing the interest of potential strategic partners.Croatia's Economy Minister Darko Horvat said four potential investors were looking at Uljanik's business data and another company was also interested, but did not elaborate."I expect at least two serious offers for Uljanik at the end of this process which would then prevent its bankruptcy…

Workers at Croatia's largest shipbuilding group Uljanik on Monday held their second strike in less than two months, this time over unpaid salary for September.In late August, the workers downed tools because of uncertainty over payments for July and August. Those two months' salaries were secured after the government reached a deal with a local bank.Uljanik owns two docks, with some 4,000 workers, located in the northern Adriatic cities of Pula and Rijeka. Some 1,500 started a…

Croatia may have to pay 4.2 billion kuna ($651.57 million) for the costs of state guarantees extended to an ailing Adriatic shipyard that has been struggling to survive in recent months, Finance Minister Zdravko Maric said on Thursday.The figure is close to 1.2 percent of Croatia's gross domestic product."This year we will have to pay 2.5 billion kuna on the basis of state guarantees for Uljanik," Maric told an economic conference in the northern Adriatic town of Rovinj.Several…

Workers at Croatia's largest shipbuilding group Uljanik, who have been on strike for more than a week, began receiving their delayed July salaries on Friday and are set to return to work on Monday.Union leaders and Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, whose government struck a deal with a local bank, confirmed the payments for some 4,500 workers at the docks, located in the northern Adriatic cities of Pula and Rijeka.Last Monday the workers protested in Zagreb demanding the government's help.Despite the funds secured for July and August salaries…

Some 4,500 workers at Croatia's largest shipbuilding group Uljanik went on strike on Wednesday and called for management to step down in protest over late payment."The management has lost credibility in our eyes, the workers and suppliers have lost confidence," one union leader, Marina Cvitic, said.Uljanik controls two docks in the northern Adriatic, in the cities of Pula and Rijeka.The workers control less than 50 percent of the company, with the state also a minority shareholder.

A deadline for bids on output from a planned offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal to be built on Croatia's northern Adriatic island of Krk has been extended until Sept. 28, developers LNG Croatia said on Friday.Demand will dictate the capacity of the 250 million euro terminal, which is part of EU-led efforts to diversify away from Russian energy imports.The deadline on bidding for output was Aug. 3 but was delayed on requests from potential customers who are still in negotiations, LNG Croatia said.The European Commission this week said it had earmarked 124 million euros for the project which will supply gas to countries in eastern and central Europe…

MOL Group’s Croatian INA agreed to buy Eni Croatia BV, a wholly-owned member of Eni Group, through which Eni participated in the joint project of gas production in Croatia’s offshore areas Northern Adriatic and Marica.INA will become the 100% owner and the sole operator of the Northern Adriatic and Marica fields after all conditions are fulfilled, including receiving clearance from the antitrust authorities, which is expected in the coming months.The transaction covers 4.3 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) proven and probable reserves and would increase hydrocarbon production by around 2,500 boe per day (or nearly 380,000 m³ per day), a step towards meeting the group’s reserves replacement targets.

LNG Hrvatska launched a second round of bidding for potential operators of an offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Croatia's northern Adriatic on Friday, after the previous round drew little interest.Last week, Croatia's parliament passed a law to enable the construction of the terminal, part of a European Union drive to diversify away from Russian gas imports.The project, which will be built on the island of Krk will be partly funded by the EU but has been criticised by environmental groups and local councils.LNG Hrvatska, the company behind the project which is expected to be operational in 2020 or 2021, said interested…