March 24 (SeeNews) - Slovenia hopes to shortly start importing natural gas from Qatar via liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals in the northern Adriatic in a bid to reduce its energy dependence on Russia, infrastructure minister Jernej Vrtovec said on Thursday.
"After talks with the Qatari minister of energy, we have the opportunity to receive Qatari gas in the near future and thus ensure supply flexibility," Vrtovec said, as quoted in a statement by the infrastructure ministry after meeting with Qatari energy minister Saad Sherida al-Kaabi in Doha.
Slovenia needs to first ensure free terminal capacity before making the next steps towards importing gas from Qatar, Vrtovec also said
Earlier this month, Vrtovec said Slovenia is holding talks to increase its imports of natural gas from Algeria and Morocco through Italy. Slovenia can import enough gas through the Krk LNG terminal in Croatia and via Italy, so as to be independent of Russian gas imports, Vrtovec noted back then.
Peak gas consumption in Slovenia stands at 4.5 million cubic metres a day. The government is in talks for increasing the maximum capacity of the Sempeter pri Gorici entry point at the Italian border to 4.1 million cubic metres a day from 3.5 million cubic metres a day, the Slovenian infrastructure minister added.