Independent Research Reveals Widespread Methane Pollution Across Croatia

Zagreb, April 4, 2025 - For the first time in Croatia, a large-scale independent research has uncovered methane leaks from the country’s gas and oil infrastructure. “Methane Hunter” Théophile Humann-Guilleminot from the international climate organization Clean Air Task Force (CATF) has investigated methane emissions at more than 500 locations worldwide. In partnership with Greenpeace, he visited 27 sites in Croatia and documented methane emissions at 26 of them. That is an astonishing emissions rate per site of 96%, the highest rate CATF has recorded in any EU country to date. 

Between March 25 and 31, CATF and Greenpeace visited a number of locations in Croatia that include locations involved in oil and gas production, as well as gas transmission and storage owned or operated by INA, Plinacro and Okoli underground gas storage. 

At 26 of these locations, methane emissions were identified in the form of gas releases or leaks, venting, and the harmful practice of flaring which can even pose risks to human health. CATF gathered careful documentation of emissions at each site, which includes infrared (IR) videos, IR photos, and digital photos. The collected materials are part of CATF's “Cut Methane” campaign, which is carried out throughout Europe and the world.

"Our research reinforces what scientists and environmental advocates have warned for years - methane is leaking or being vented throughout the entire oil and gas supply chain. From Texas’s vast gas fields to Plinacro's pipelines, fossil fuel companies are carelessly releasing methane and worsening climate change, all in pursuit of short-term profits. Unfortunately, of the countries I have visited, Croatia ranks among the three worst in terms of results. Seeing gas billowing from corroded, open tanks in the Ivanić-Grad region and leaks from broken wells in Okoli is deeply concerning. In the midst of the energy crisis, this level of waste shows a disregard for both the climate and Croatian citizens," said Humann-Guilleminot. 

Methane is an extremely potent greenhouse gas, with a global warming potential 84 times greater than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. It frequently escapes into the atmosphere during fossil fuel extraction, transport, and storage. In August 2024, the European Union’s Methane Regulation - the first legally binding regulation of its kind - came into force, aiming to curb methane emissions in the energy sector domestically and imported.

“The new EU regulation sets much stricter requirements for the fossil fuel industry” explains Eszter Matyas of Greenpeace in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE)". The fossil fuel companies will now be required to regularly measure and report emissions, improve infrastructure maintenance, repair leaks, and put an end to routine venting and flaring. We hope that this new regulation will bring significant improvements to dirty industry practices. Reducing methane pollution is one of the most effective ways to slow global warming in the short term, but it is not enough.”

In Croatia, and unfortunately also many other countries, the fossil fuel industry has long promoted gas as a “green” and “clean” energy source. These misleading narratives have persisted, partly because methane is invisible to the naked eye and its environmental and health impacts have been largely overlooked. "We could have assumed that measurements at certain locations would show methane emissions, but the scale of pollution we uncovered is shocking”, said Petra Andrić, Program Lead at Greenpeace Croatia.  “As Greenpeace, we urge the Croatian government to fully implement the new methane regulation without delay.  However, tackling methane leakage is only part of the solution - the real priority must be a complete phase-out of fossil gas by 2035 and a ban on new fossil fuel projects. Croatia has immense potential for renewable energy, particularly solar and wind power, which should be at the heart of the country’s energy future.”

ENDS

Notes:

Since 2021, CATF has been collecting evidence of methane emissions from oil and gas facilities across Europe. So far, CATF has visited more than 650 sites in 16 countries. CATF has found evidence of methane emissions at 450 locations, the vast majority of those sites.

The footage was captured by Théophile (Theo) Humann-Guilleminot who is documenting methane emissions across Europe for CATF. He is a certified ITEMA Level 1 Infrared Thermographer and uses a FLIR GF320 camera. The GF320 is the industry standard for identifying emissions, leaks, and events that occur during routine oil and gas operations, or because of faulty equipment, accidents, and intentional releases by operators. The GF320 has been specifically calibrated and independently tested to detect and visualize the presence of at least 20 gases that may be in the air. Humann-Guilleminot has investigated methane emissions at more than 500 locations in 13 countries.

1 -  https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/SYR_AR5_FINAL_full.pdf