Russia has again cut gas supplies to Croatia by 11 percent or approximately 13,500 cubic metres per hour.
Domestic gas production is at the maximum level as public gas consumption is very high owing to very low temperatures.
Vujec called on Croatians to use gas rationally.
Ina Naftaplin's supplies to industrial consumers such as the national power company HEP and Petrokemija have been reduced to ensure sufficient supplies for households.
During a visit to Petrokemija, the Kutina-based manufacturer of artificial fertilisers, Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader on Tuesday commented on the current situation in the energy and gas sector.
He said that the independence of the energy sector should be given priority over environmental concerns. He reiterated that his cabinet was planning to construct a terminal for liquefied natural gas, most probably on the Adriatic island of Krk.
The government will also mull over supply lines running via Hungary and Romania, Sanader said and stressed that Croatia should not depend on political circumstances in countries supplying it with gas.
The chairman of the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Association, Zlatan Vavro, told a news conference in Zagreb today that the consumption of LNG in Croatia would increase by seven percent by 2010.
In 2004, the consumption of LNG was 138,000 tonnes. Households' share in the total consumption was 43 percent, that of the industrial sector was 31 percent, cars accounted for 12 percent, gas plants for nine percent and agriculture for five percent of the total consumption.
In Croatia, the annual production of LNG is 380,000 tonnes.