BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 3. Serbia expects the first gas supplies from Azerbaijan soon, Dubravka Djedovic, Minister of Mining and Energy of Serbia, said at the ministerial meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council held in Baku, Trend reports.
"Serbia is trying to become part of this large value chain that supports energy security and economic development. Serbia is diversifying supply routes by joining the Southern Gas Corridor," she said.
According to the minister, Azerbaijan an supply a third of Serbia's annual gas demand, as one of the main partners in regard to the diversification policy.
"The terms of supply are being discussed in parallel with the construction of a gas interconnector in the direction of Serbia with a capacity of 1.8 billion cubic meters of gas, which we expect to complete this autumn. We expect the first gas deliveries soon, but it also depends on the speed of commercial negotiations of all parties involved, and we hope to achieve maximum efficiency of gas transportation from Azerbaijan to Serbia as soon as possible," she noted.
On February 1 this year, Bulgaria announced the start of construction of the interconnector, through which Serbia plans to get Azerbaijani gas. It is planned to commission the pipeline running from Novi Iskar, Bulgaria to Nis, Serbia, by the end of 2023. Bulgaria plans to complete the construction of the 62-km section on its territory by the end of October 2023, and the Serbian section will also be ready by autumn.
Southern Gas Corridor started transportation of Azerbaijani gas to Europe on December 31, 2020. It transports gas from the Caspian Sea region to European countries through Georgia and Türkiye.
This large-scale project is aimed at the diversification of energy supply routes and sources, thereby contributing to strengthening Europe’s energy security. The project’s cost totaled $33 billion, as compared to the forecast of $45 billion. Capital expenditures on the SGC project are expected to be fully reimbursed within 8-10 years.