BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb.2. Serbia may become a transit country for Azerbaijani gas, Minister of Energy of the Republic of Serbia, Dubravka Djedovic said in an exclusive interview with Trend.
She noted that Azerbaijani gas has already been recognized as a part of the solution for diversifying the sources of gas supply in Europe, but this also applies to Serbia and our entire region.
“Diversification of suppliers is important primarily for achieving the greater energy security for Serbia, however the construction of gas interconnectors towards other neighbouring countries opens up the opportunities for Serbia to become a transit country for Azerbaijani gas to reach other countries in the region and the EU,” added Djedovic.
Serbia will get access to Azerbaijani gas via the interconnector with Bulgaria. On Feb.1 this year Bulgaria announced the start of construction of the interconnector. 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.
Azerbaijan produced 46.7 billion cubic meters of natural gas in 2022, 6.5 percent, or 2.9 billion cubic meters more as compared to 2021. A total of 22.3 billion cubic meters of the total volume of Azerbaijani gas produced in 2022, were exported, which is 18 percent more than in 2021.
Azerbaijan’s gas supplies to Europe stood at 11.4 billion cubic meters in 2022.
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