The US has made a priority to put an end to its dependence on energy imports, therefore, the States began active development of oil and gas fields by the method of hydraulic fracturing — or fracking.
What is it? This method of gap species by using liquid injected under very high pressure. The water is mixed with sand and chemicals and injected under high pressure into the well. This leads to the formation of small cracks that allow gas, oil and other extracted substances. When hydraulic pressure drops, small fragments of sand and aluminum oxide remain cracked open. This method is used for the extraction of residual gas, shale gas and coal seams.
Proponents of this method argue that by fracking to extract previously inaccessible vast amounts of fossil fuels. Opponents say that hydraulic fracturing causes contamination of water and air, releases of hazardous chemicals, and even causes earthquakes.
As we mentioned, the US wants at any price to end their dependence on energy import, and against those who are concerned about the environmental pollution have already found the perfect solution and absurd: they simply blame the fact that they are “Russian agents”. The U.S. has already launched a campaign, which claims that Russia is instigating these environmental associations to protests to thereby prevent the great American energy revolution. Such conspiracy theories in the new America are very popular due to the atmosphere of paranoia that prevails in the country.
Anyway, we have a situation when the United States will soon produce a large number of new gas, but they undermine their own ground (in Europe, too, can produce a lot of gas this way, but the EU, of course, is strongly opposed to such methods). We are talking about volumes which will not only satisfy demand in the American market, but will also become an important component of American exports.
Where to export all this gas? In Europe, of course.
The international energy Agency (IEA) predicts that by 2022, the U.S. share of world gas production will reach 20%.
If the US wants to export its gas to Europe, they face one problem: the Atlantic ocean is very large, and it is not a gas pipeline was laid. And then think about CNG. What is it? LNG (liquefied natural gas) is the same gas, but not in the gaseous and in the liquefied state!
That is cool and turning the gas into a liquid, make it suitable for transportation, which means that it can be delivered to the special courts, and then in tanks to places not connected by pipelines.
Of the US LNG shipped to Europe on special ships, where along the way the gas is stored in special tanks at the right temperature and conditions. What to do when these vessels will arrive in Europe? To transport LNG by road then it would be extremely impractical, so it is better to have special terminals, where the approach of the court, and where the regasification of liquefied natural gas. Further it can be delivered through pipelines to the consumer.
One of these key LNG terminals planned in Croatia on Krk island. The project implementation is already underway. The European Union took about 50% of the costs (€102 million). The question is, who will Fund the rest?
The Croatian President Kitarovic has been actively campaigning in the so-called “Initiative of the three seas” by offering to create a corridor from Poland to Croatia. In a traditional political context, this corridor is considered as the wall from Russia, including energy.
At the same time attempts to enlist American support for the project of LNG terminal on Krk, and trump even once mentioned it. But who knows whether he remembers trump, who has promised what and when.
The LNG terminal on Krk would simplify the way American gas to the European market, and in our media about this project is often referred to as the fateful terminal, which will determine Europe’s energy future. However, it is actually not so in Europe, there are already a lot of LNG terminals, and new ones are built.
LNG terminals in Europe
What is in fact the future of LNG terminals in Europe? Some say that everything will depend on the outcome of the struggle between Russia and the United States of Europe. That is due to the fact that the US is going to export large volumes of gas that Europe needs them as a client, but how to draw it, if the Russian Gazprom already meets a third of European gas demand?
What happens when you build “Nord stream — 2” and “Turkish stream”? How to sell American gas? But that’s not all. Despite all the innovations in the training of LNG, the US simply cannot offer the gas to Europe for the same price as Russia. It is an indisputable fact. So if nothing “special” will not happen, Russia will dominate the European gas market more confident.
Yes, Europe wants to diversify gas supplies, because to depend entirely on one supplier, i.e. Russia, makes no sense. However, to oust Russia from the market only if Europe is consciously agree to buy expensive gas. But, despite its loyalty to Washington, which, however, is gradually being lost, Europe is not going.
What the US can do? Theoretically, they can ignite a fire war in Eastern Europe, to incite Eastern European countries to Russia and thus to block the flow of Russian gas. However, such a thought may come to mind or very dangerous or just a mentally ill person, because such a conflict would mean a clash between Russia and NATO. That is potentially a Third world war. Unfortunately, dangerous and mentally unstable people in the world today enough.
What are the plans of the USA concerning Russia, we will see. Given that these two countries are fighting for the European market, which is now dominated by Russia, not surprisingly, the US carried out a frenzied international campaign against Russia.
Now the plan of the Americans is that of using sanctions to prevent the strengthening of economic ties between Russia and Europe. Who knows, maybe in a year or two the US will make a law that any member of NATO buying gas from Russia, is a potential “ally of the enemy”. In other words, the US wants to start big business with LNG and to develop it in any way.
Back to Krk. As we have noted, the EU has allocated one hundred million euros for the project, and Zagreb and want to find another hundred million. Taking into account some new information it seems that Croatia is or to hurry with the search, or abandon the project altogether. The fact that Croatia has a competitor capable of building the LNG terminal in the Northern Adriatic sea. We are talking about Slovenia.
For some time now, Slovenia is considering building an LNG terminal in Koper. But for one small region, the two LNG terminal too much.
Why Slovenia is building such plans when there is already a terminal project in Croatia? Hardly a matter of competition between neighbors. In the game something more serious.
And Slovenia and Croatia are members of NATO and the EU, but how truly loyal Ljubljana and Zagreb? How they “close” on the one hand, to Washington, Brussels, Berlin, and on the other to Moscow?
It is no secret that Croatia is more loyal to US than Slovenia, and these Pro-American sentiment can be costly right now, when Europe and the United States opens up the abyss. Brussels and Berlin with suspicion look at the countries that excessively emphasize its relationship with Washington (Croatia, Poland…) or Moscow (Hungary, Greece…).
Zagreb don’t like it, but the fact is that Ljubljana is pursuing a neutral foreign policy, keeping equally good relations with everyone and at the same time carefully tending to Berlin and Moscow.
Croatian loyalty to the United States was and remains problematic. If the US wants a bit to push the Balkans into chaos (just for geopolitical fun), the first in the queue for the escalation of tensions will be Zagreb. It is inevitable for Croatia, because the right and left, and right dominant center (party SDP and HDZ), in principle, carried out almost identical foreign policy. The solution would be to abandon the dominance of the two parties, as it did in several European countries, but we have it is in the indefinite future.
Back to LNG terminals. Krk or Koper? This decision will be political and will not in Zagreb and not in Ljubljana. What are the conditions? In the case of Piran Bay, the arbitration court decided in favor of Slovenia, and some explained this by the fact that the EU favors more of Slovenia.
Whether the decision on the Bay of Piran with the LNG terminal? Maybe not, but it still tells us that Croatia has no influential friends in Europe, because we give preference to those who are on the other side of the Atlantic.
Zagreb has to literally peer into the “crystal ball” and predict what does the future hold: will win USA or Russia, or the sovereign will rise up in Europe? As a proper member of the bloc Croatia, like all others, ought to wish for a third, but whether it is possible to expect from it? It is unlikely, and Croatia is not alone. Loyalty to the EU is in deep crisis, and it will only aggravate the advancing American and Russian interests. In the end, we can again be on some of the Balkans, which sandwiched “between powerful forces.” But we do not need it.
