Balkans | Serbia and Bulgaria start building a new gas pipeline

Serbia and Bulgaria have started building new natural gas pipelines in order to diversify their supplies after a drop in energy imports from Russia.

Construction of the 171-kilometre (106 mi) natural gas interconnection pipeline has begun.

The official opening took place in the presence of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Bulgarian President Rumen Radev. The two countries had already connected their gas networks at the end of 2020 to allow Russian energy imported via the TurkStream pipeline to reach Serbia through an expanded network.

The new pipeline will run from the Bulgarian capital Sofia to Nice via Dimitrovgrad in Serbia. It will reportedly have a capacity of 1.8 billion cubic meters per year, providing an additional 80% increase over Serbia’s current annual gas needs.

The interconnection will allow Belgrade to import energy from the Southern Gas Corridor and supply it to southern Europe.

According to Vucic, Serbia will become a gas transit country for other countries in the Western Balkans, thanks to the new interconnection pipeline.

Highlight of Azerbaijan’s gas

Vucic noted that the new gas pipeline will connect Serbia with Bulgaria, Greece and other European Union countries and guarantee natural gas imports from Azerbaijan.

Russia is currently the sole supplier of natural gas to Serbia. Belgrade has already provided 2.2 billion cubic meters of gas annually, which meets 62 percent of the country’s needs. The country’s current contract with Russia’s Gazprom expires on May 31, and officials expect to sign a new ten-year agreement.

They also plan to start buying liquefied natural gas from Greece and natural gas from Azerbaijan in September to increase energy security.

Konnetwork