BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 13. Access to Azerbaijani gas, is a priority for Serbia, Minister of Energy of the Republic of Serbia, Dubravka Djedovic said in an exclusive interview with Trend.
‘When the global energy crisis began many European countries, including Serbia, were in the stage of having insufficiently diversified routes and suppliers. That would be unfavourable even under conditions when there is no crisis, whereas in the current circumstances in Europe it represents a serious risk for energy security which, in turn, is increasingly becoming a matter of national security. Access to other gas suppliers, primarily to Azerbaijani gas, is a priority for us and we have been already actively working on that,” she said.
Djedovic pointed out that the prerequisite for enabling the natural gas from Azerbaijan to reach Serbia is the construction of gas infrastructure.
“This year, Serbia started the construction of a gas interconnector with Bulgaria which should be completed in the last quarter of next year. This will enable us, already in the first quarter of 2024, to connect with the TAP gas pipeline that supplies natural gas to Greece, and then through the recently opened Greece-Bulgaria Interconnector this energy source will also reach our market,” added the minister.
By connecting to the Southern Gas Corridor, Serbia will not only increase its energy security and safety by ensuring an additional supply route, but it will also gain an opportunity to become a transit country through which that gas will reach other countries both in the region and in Europe, Dubravka Djedovic said.
“The significance of gas supplies to Europe via the Southern Gas Corridor will certainly increase in the coming years, as evidenced by the EU's interest in increasing gas imports from Azerbaijan. Azerbaijani gas would certainly contribute to the solution for increasing energy security in Europe, and this is especially true for our region, which has yet to diversify its sources of supply,” she added.
The minster pointed out that following the construction of the Serbia-Bulgaria Gas Interconnector, Serbia will be able diversify not only gas supply routes but also suppliers.
She noted that by this gas pipeline Serbia will become connected with the gas pipelines on the Southern Gas Corridor, as well as with the LNG terminal in Alexandropoulis.
“Serbia is currently being supplied with gas via the Balkan Stream gas pipeline, from the direction of Bulgaria. Once this gas pipeline was constructed, which was completed at the beginning of 2021, Serbia achieved a diversification of routes, because previously gas had been supplied exclusively from the direction of Hungary,” added the minister.
Djedovic went on to add that the capacity of the Serbia-Bulgaria Gas Interconnector is 1.8 billion cubic meters of gas per year, from Bulgaria to Serbia.
“By the time the new interconnection becomes operational, the volumes of gas that Serbia will receive through this pipeline will be contracted,” she explained.
Djedovic noted that each new interconnection implies additional security of gas supply which is why the Government of Serbia intends to build additional gas pipelines, however that will also depend on the activities undertaken by other countries.
“At present, the most certain is the construction of a gas interconnection with North Macedonia, a project that is likely to be supported by the European Union. This project is currently in its early stage of development, in the stage of starting to develop the Feasibility Study, and it should also enable connection to the gas pipeline system of the Southern Gas Corridor TANAP-TAP, through the planned Greece-North Macedonia interconnection,” said the minister.
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