Bar LNG Terminal

This article is part of the Global Fossil Infrastructure Tracker, a project of Global Energy Monitor.

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Bar LNG Terminal is a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal proposed in Montenegro.

Location

The terminal is proposed to be located in the Port of Bar, Montenegro.

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Project details

• Operator:

• Owner: LNG Alliance, EPCG

• Parent company: LNG Alliance, EPCG

• Vessel:

• Vessel operator:

• Vessel owner:

• Vessel parent company:

• Location: Port of Bar, Montenegro

• Coordinates: 42.093367, 19.081096 (approximate)

• Capacity: 0.4 mtpa, with the ability to be expanded to 1.2 mtpa

• Status: Proposed

• Type: Import

• Start year: 2025

• Cost: €250 million

• Financing:

• FID status: Pre-FID (Q3 2023)

• Associated infrastructure: Bar gas power station

Background

In December 2021, Singapore-based LNG Alliance signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Montenegro's state-owned power firm EPCG to conduct a feasibility study into an LNG terminal in the Port of Bar and associated LNG-to-power projects. The feasibility study will look into developing LNG-to-power projects in Bar and Podgorica. The construction of the LNG terminal would be the responsibility of LNG Alliance. The terminal will have a floating storage unit (FSU) and a capacity of 0.4 mtpa, with the possibility of modularly expanding it to 1.2 mtpa.

The Bar LNG terminal will serve Montenegro and major parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Serbia, Albania, and the southern region of Hungary. The terminal will bring regasified LNG through gas pipelines to Montenegro and can support the entire Balkans through virtual pipelines, i.e., the distribution of LNG through ISO LNG Containers loaded onto trucks and trains to consumers, such as industrial clusters, LNG/CNG fuel stations, and municipalities, who are in remote locations far from the pipelines.

The developers stated that they intend for the terminal to be repurposed for green ammonia in the future.

In February 2023, representatives from the governments of Montenegro and the United States discussed cooperation on energy issues, including agreeing to take action with regard to the LNG terminal.

In May 2023, the Government of Montenegro signed an MOU with US companies Enerflex Energy Systems and Wethington Energy Innovation to support the construction of Bar LNG Terminal and Bar gas power station.

In July 2023, Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic indicated the country's interest in importing LNG via Bar LNG Terminal.

In October 2023, an EU Enlargement Commissioner said in a meeting that the EU was ready to partner with Montenegro to build the LNG facility.

In February 2024, the Municipal Assembly of Bar and the national Parliamentary Committee on Tourism, Agriculture, Ecology and Spatial Planning held hearings related to the public interest of the project.

In April 2024, Balkan Insight reported that the LNG terminal had been included in Montenegro's draft spatial plan, but that the government had not yet decided whether to proceed with construction. The spatial plan was again under public discussion.

A May 2024 press release from the Municipality of Bar said that it was clear that the previous government had supported the LNG proposal without any feasibility study, cost-benefit analysis, or study of the impact on the environment.

Opposition

In October 2023, a group of Montenegrin civil society organizations and regional partners wrote an open letter to the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen expressing their concern over the EU's apparent support for the project, which would inhibit the country's energy transition. The NGOs noted that, "This LNG terminal, if built, would create a carbon lock-in for Montenegro, that the country would not be able to resolve before the 2050s...By building an LNG terminal and supporting infrastructure, Montenegro's counterintuitive pivot toward creating gas demand could introduce new economic and energy security risks for the country’s energy transition."

In March 2024, Bankwatch Network reported that there was growing local opposition to the project, evident at recent public hearings related to the project. Local residents near the proposed project site are concerned about " the high risks of accidents and health and property damage."