Serbia-Bulgaria interconnector to reduce dependence on Russian gas

11 months ago 34

A pipeline connector between Serbia and Bulgaria that will reduce Serbia’s dependence on Russian gas by giving it access to Azerbaijan exports was inaugurated Sunday (10 December) in the presence of three Presidents.

“We will get another source of supply,” Serbia’s Energy Minister Dubravka Djedovic Handanović said at an event near the southern town of Nis, Serbia’s state-run RTS reported.

The 170-kilometre pipeline will allow Serbia to import up to 400 million cubic meters of natural gas per year from Azerbaijan, according to a deal signed in November between the Serbian and Azeri gas companies, Srbijagas and SOCAR.

Serbia’s annual gas demand is around three billion cubic meters.

The interconnector is reversible, meaning that in case of need, it can transport gas from LNG terminals in Croatia or from the Baumgarten gas hub in Austria, via Serbia, to Bulgaria.

The opening ceremony was attended by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and his Bulgarian and Azeri counterparts, Rumen Radev and Ilham Aliyev.

Handanović said the pipeline would grant Serbia access to the liquified natural gas terminal in Alexandroupolis, Greece.

“The interconnector is a guarantee of diversification and security. We are not just connecting our gas transmission networks, the interconnector is a symbol of the increased technological capabilities of our countries, of successful cooperation, said Radev, who hailed the cooperation between Bulgaria, Serbia and Azerbaijan.

In recent decades, Serbia has relied almost exclusively on Russia for its gas supplies, building pipelines solely for Russian gas and selling a majority stake of its state-owned oil and gas company, NIS, to Russia’s energy giant Gazprom.

Last year, Belgrade signed a long-term contract to continue importing Russian gas, drawing a rebuke from Brussels as the European Union tries to reduce its energy dependence on Russia.

Serbia receives Russian gas via Bulgaria, although Moscow has cut supplies for the EU member. According to the contract, Bulgaria has the obligation to ensure the transit of Russian gas to Serbia and Hungary, via the so called TurkStream, also known as Balkan stream on European territory.

While Serbia, which aspires to join the European Union, has condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it has refused to take part in the Western sanctions against Moscow.

(With additional reporting by Georgi Gotev)