The gas interconnector with Serbia begins trial operation within a few days

The intersystem gas connection Serbia-Bulgaria will be put into trial operation within a few days, Serbian Minister of Mining Industry and Energy Dubravka Jedovic Handanovic announced, quoted by Tanjug and BTA.

"Colleagues from the Ministry of Mining and Energy have been on the ground for three weeks, together with contractors and subcontractors, to oversee the timely completion of works and the fulfillment of all conditions for the gas pipeline to be put into trial operation, which we expect to be happened in the following days," Jedovic Handanovic said of Tanjug.

The minister emphasized that all participants in the project are extremely committed to diversifying Serbia's gas supplies.

She also recalled the contract that Serbia recently signed in Azerbaijan for the supply of about 400 million cubic meters of gas per year.

According to her, Serbia can count on this amount of gas until 2026, and then on almost three times more gas from this country, as well as from the Caspian region, and also from Greece, from a liquefied natural gas terminal.

"Thus, in effect, we get another source of gas, we increase our role as a transit country, as Hungary gets its gas through Serbia, as well as other EU countries and the region," she said.

According to Jedović Handanović, it is planned to build additional intersystem gas connections, primarily with North Macedonia.

She stressed that Serbia has enough gas reserves in storage and that thanks to these reserves, if unforeseen situations arise, there will be a secure supply of blue fuel.

The Serbia-Bulgaria gas interconnector is part of a wider EU initiative, namely the Southern Gas Corridor, which aims to reduce Europe's dependence on Russian gas.

 

In Serbia, the length of the intersystem gas connection Bulgaria-Serbia (IBS) is 109 kilometers, and the total length of the gas pipeline through both countries is 170 kilometers - from Novi Iskar near Sofia to Nis. The gas pipeline will have a capacity of 1.8 billion cubic meters of gas per year.