Sofia: Ambassador Jović for Euronews Serbia on the chance for Serbia and the region to connect to new sources of gas
Ambassador of Serbia to Bulgaria Željko Jović told Euronews Serbia that the key contribution of the new interconnector was the connection with Azerbaijan's gas reserves, as well as the possibility that Bulgaria and other countries in the region could be supplied with liquid natural gas from some of the countries that have such natural gas reserves.
„The possibility of connecting to the Azerbaijani gas resources - Shah Deniz 1 and Shah Deniz 2 is important not only for Bulgaria, but for all the countries of the region. In addition to Azerbaijani gas that flows through the pipeline via the Southern Gas Corridor, i.e. via the three key pipelines (South Caucasus Pipeline, TANAP and TAP), there are also other, no less important sources. However, these sources from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the USA, are sources of liquid natural gas that requires transport by ships on the one hand and terminals for its unloading and regasification on the other hand.“ said Jović.
The Ambassador pointed out that, using the Bulgarian gas infrastructure and upon the completion of the Serbia–Bulgaria interconnector, Serbia would practically very soon have the same possibility that the Bulgarians have now by using the Greek infrastructure, that is, to obtain gas from Azerbaijani reserves, as well as the possibility of using LPG. He added that the Serbian interconnector was expected to be completed by the middle of next year.
The construction of an LNG terminal in the Greek port of Alexandroupolis which began in May, aims to reduce the dependence of this part of Europe on Russian gas, and the connection with Serbia should be the Nis-Dimitrovgrad gas interconnection between Serbia and Bulgaria, the construction of which began in February. Like most European countries, Serbia is currently dependent on one gas supplier from the Russian Federation through two supply routes, via Hungary and via Bulgaria. This project should enable Serbia's diversification, i.e. the possibility of using gas from other sources.
The gas pipeline on the territory of Serbia will be 109 kilometres long and the total length of the two-way gas pipeline through Serbia and Bulgaria is 170 kilometres. The Government of Serbia previously announced that the gas pipeline was designed for a capacity of 1.8 billion cubic metres of gas per year, and that the deadline for completion of the works was October 2023.
The value of the project is EUR 85.5 million, of which EUR 25 million is a loan from the European Investment Bank, EUR 49.6 million are grants from the EU IPA fund, and the remaining EUR 11 million will be provided from the budget of the Republic of Serbia and the Srbijagas funds. In addition to Serbia, Bulgaria also received a grant of EUR 27.6 million from the European Commission for the construction of a gas pipeline on its territory.
The Balkan stream which supplies Serbia with Russian gas runs through Bulgaria, although this country is no longer buying the Russian gas because it has imposed sanctions on Russia, but Jović said that the gas was still flowing through and noted that Serbia has signed specific contracts with Russia as a supplier and with Bulgaria as a transit country.
„Whether the gas will flow or not cannot be the subject of some promises and verbal agreements, it is strictly regulated by valid and strong international law agreements. We have excellent cooperation with the Republic of Bulgaria as regards energy, including the implementation of certain concrete infrastructure projects and I expect no problems to arise when it comes to the flow of gas from Russia to the Republic of Serbia via the Balkan Stream,“ Ambassador Jović said for Euronews Serbia.
Source: Euronews Serbia