October 6 (SeeNews) - Bosnian gas monopoly BH Gas said it is against the connection of Bosnia's Brod refinery to the gas transport system of Croatia, claiming that such interstate connections cannot be built without an intergovernmental agreement regulating the matter.
BH Gas's reaction came after Croatia's government said it has adopted a protocol which envisions the connection of Bosnia's Brod refinery to the gas transport system of Croatia with the aim to improve the air quality in Croatia's eastern municipality of Slavonski Brod and reduce health risks.
The refinery will be supplied with gas by Croatia's privately-held gas trader Crodux Plin via the direct connection of Brod to the Croatian gas system in Slobodnica, the government said in a statement following a weekly session.
BH Gas, for its part, has asked all government representatives to oppose the implementation of this "partial solution", especially since it includes the use of a strategic gas point for Bosnia.
"This point in Brod is included in all development documents, including those of the Energy Community, and is defined as the point of an international interconnection between Croatia and Bosnia and as the start of the Southern European gas ring," BH Gas said in a statement late on Thursday..
Croatia's government, however, said that Brod's connection to Bosnia's gas-transport system is not possible, hence the only solution is for the gas to be brought from Croatia by transforming the current product line Slobodnica - Brod into a direct gas pipeline.
The Brod refinery is located in Bosnia's municipality of Brod, on the border with Croatia, and has been at the centre of a dispute between the two countries due to cross-border air pollution.
Its gasification is now being seen as the only solution, which would improve air quality and ensure the health of residents in the area.
Earlier this year, Russian state-controlled oil company Zarubezhneft JSC, the owner of Brod, told SeeNews it is interested in the construction of a low-pressure gas pipeline to its Brod refinery in Bosnia.
"The decision regarding the pipeline's construction is subject to the competence of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Serb Republic," the company said at the time.
The oil refinery is located in the Serb Republic, one of two entities that make up Bosnia. Russia's Zarubezhneft, via its subsidiary NeftegazInCor, owns 80% of Brod, along with 75.65% of refinery Modrica and 80% of fuel retailer Nestro Petrol.