Page 10 - EurOil Week 05 2022

EurOil PIPELINES & TRANSPORT EurOil

Construction of EU-funded Bulgaria-

Serbia gas pipe begins

BALKANS CONSTRUCTION of the gas interconnector EU and the Energy Community, as well as one
between Serbia and Bulgaria started on Febru- of the seven priority projects within the CESEC
ary 1 Interconnection in Central and South-Eastern
Serbia imports almost The gas pipeline, with capacity of 1.8bn cubic Europe initiative.
all of the natural gas it metres (bcm) per year, will help diversify gas The cost of the project is €85.5mn, of which
consumes from Russia. supplies to Serbia, which is currently dependent €25mn is a loan from the European Investment
on imports of Russian gas. Bank (EIB), €49.6mn is a grant from the EU
The pipeline will be ready for operation by IPA Fund, while the remaining €10.3mn will be
October 2023, which will improve energy secu- provided from the Serbian budget and approxi-
rity in Serbia and the region, Serbian Prime mately €600,000 from Srbijagas.
Minister Ana Brnabic said at the ceremony to The pipeline, which will have the possibility
mark the start of construction, a government of reverse flow, will run from the southern Ser-
statement said. bian city of Nis to the state border near Dimitro-
The gas interconnection with Bulgaria, with vgrad then on to the town of Novi Iskar, north of
the support of the EU, will mean a better quality the Bulgarian capital Sofia.
of life for everyone in Serbia – new investments “I expect that by October 2023 at the latest,
and jobs, the prime minister emphasised. the Bulgaria-Serbia gas interconnection will be
Head of the EU delegation to Serbia Ema- completed and will help expand the opportuni-
nuele Giaufret said that the project is another ties for our country to access the European gas
step towards connecting Serbia and the EU, and market. It will provide Serbia and other coun-
will significantly increase the amount of gas for tries in the region with access to various gas
households and industry. sources through the Southern Gas Corridor and
He added that thanks to that gas pipeline, Ser- the liquefied natural gas terminal near Alexan-
bia will have more choice and be less dependent droupolis,” said Bulgarian Minister of Energy
on existing sources of supply. While Giaufret Alexander Nikolov.
didn’t spell this out, Russia is currently Serbia’s The final investment decision on the LNG
main gas supplier, and the pipeline will enable terminal near Alexandropolis was recently
access to alternative sources such as gas from approved, paving the way for construction of the
Azerbaijan in future. terminal that together with the Greece-Bulgaria
Serbia imports almost all of the natural gas interconnector is “crucial for achieving diver-
it consumes from Gazprom. In November, sification for Bulgaria, Greece and the Balkans,
when Sebia’s long-term gas supply contract boosting competition and enhancing the secu-
was about to expire, President Aleksandar rity of gas supplies in the region”, the developer
Vucic reached an agreement with his Russian of the interconnector said. Construction of the
counterpart Vladimir Putin under which Ser- interconnector is underway but was delayed by
bia will continue to buy Russian gas at a price the pandemic.
of $270 per 1,000 cubic metres for the next “The current situation of high energy price
six months. The price is considerably lower volatility requires targeted and effective meas-
than that charged to other Southeast Euro- ures in which active cooperation and further
pean countries like Moldova, which recently integration of energy markets in the region will
elected a western-leaning government and allow us to meet the challenges. In this sense,
president. the Bulgaria-Serbia gas interconnection project
The Serbian government seek to balance its is an example of how sustainable cooperation
ambitions to join the EU with friendly relations between our two countries and the European
with Russia, China and the US. Commission can ensure mutual benefits for both
The Bulgaria-Serbia interconnector has been countries and for the entire region,” Nikolov
declared a project of common interest for the added. ™

P10 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 05 03•February•2022