It is expected that the Memorandum of Understanding between the ministries of energy of Serbia and Azerbaijan, as well as the commercial contract between the Azerbaijani supplier and JP Srbijagas, will be signed by the end of November, according to the ministry.
They specify that negotiations are underway with a company from Azerbaijan regarding supply.
The ministry also states that Srbijagas is in the phase of leasing part of the LNG terminal in Alexandroupolis on a long-term basis.
“It is planned to lease about 300 million cubic meters on an annual basis when the terminal starts operating,” the ministry said.
The Ministry states that it is expected that the supply of natural gas through the interconnector will begin by the end of this year.
The construction of the Serbia-Bulgaria gas interconnector should enable the diversification of supply sources, greater energy stability and free Serbia and the region from dependence on Russian gas.
The Minister of Mining and Energy, Dubravka Đedović Handanović, announced at the end of September that the Serbia-Bulgaria gas interconnector will be built in October, stating that it is also of strategic interest to the European Union, as Serbia will thus become a transit country for delivering gas to the EU.
The gas interconnector is crucial for energy diversification in Serbia, because the country will get an infrastructure through which it will be able to supply gas from different sources.
The Ministry of Mining and Energy told Demostat in March that discussions are ongoing with partners from Azerbaijan about the amount and prices of gas, “which Serbia could receive from next year”, while the general director of Srbijagas, Dušan Bajatović, said in mid-March that Serbia is already booked 300 million cubic meters of gas at the LNG terminal for liquefied natural gas in the Greek port of Alexandroupolis.
The goal is to reduce dependence on Russia and Russian gas
The gas interconnector should change the energy picture of the entire region, which is heavily dependent on Russian gas.
The Serbia-Bulgaria gas interconnection is part of a wider EU initiative, the Southern Gas Corridor, which aims to reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian gas.
The goal of the European Union is energy diversification, especially after the war in Ukraine began, which is why some EU countries have freed themselves from dependence on Russian gas or are on the way to doing so.
The EU is helping Serbia and the region to diversify their sources of gas supply.
That is why the support for the construction of the Serbia-Bulgaria interconnector.
