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The main “Balkan Stream” gas pipeline in Serbia, which supplies Russian gas through Turkey and Bulgaria, and which runs for 403 kilometers from Zajecar to Horgos, was officially put into operation this morning in Gospodjinci, near Zabalj.
“This is of crucial importance for the future development of Serbia.” This is of great importance for us, for the industry and the progress of the Serbian economy and for all the inhabitants of our country, “said Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić at the official inauguration of the gas pipeline and thanked all those who worked in the project.
He noted that Serbia provided stability and energy security with the “Balkan Stream” gas pipeline, which opens the possibility of attracting new investors.
He specified that Serbia would receive gas through that pipeline at a price of up to $ 155 per cubic meter, with transportation costs much lower than through another pipeline, through which it has been supplied so far.
He recalled that an additional $ 30 was charged for delivery of gas through Ukraine and Hungary to Serbia, plus $ 18 for transportation across the country.
“We only spent $ 48 on that, and now it will cost between $ 12 and $ 14,” Vucic said, adding that they were significant savings.
Transit fee, secondary pipeline
He assessed as a favorable circumstance that Serbia will charge a transit tax, which will help pay for the construction costs of the gas pipeline.
The president of Serbia announced the development of the secondary gas pipeline, that is, that the gas will be taken to many places where it is not, which could also attract everyone who wants to open factories.
“This guarantees a better and more secure future.” I don’t know what the trade agreement will be between Russia and Ukraine, but Serbia, with the help of Russian partners, managed to secure the supply of its territory, “Vucic said.
He also announced that next week, in a meeting with representatives of the Government of Serbia and “Srbijagas”, he would discuss how to lower the price of the connection to the gas pipeline for households.
Vučić said that local autonomous governments, which charge connection fees, will be told that these prices are high, because the state wants the highest revenue to be obtained through payment for the use of gas, which will be available for a greater number of households.
The inauguration of the gas pipeline was attended by the director of “Srbijagas” Dusana Bajatovic, the Russian ambassador Aleksandar Bocan Kharchenko, the Minister of Construction Tomislav Momirovic, the Prime Minister of Vojvodina Igor Mirovic and the former Minister of Energy Aleksandar Antic.
The director of “Srbijagas”, Dusan Bajatovic, said that today up to six million cubic meters of gas would be released into Serbia through the new pipeline, and stated that Serbia would be supplied with three points of this pipeline, namely Paracin, Pancevo and Gospodjinci.
“With the reduction of transportation through Ukraine, we are confident that 100 percent of all transportation capacities in Serbia, Bulgaria and Hungary have been exhausted, which means that Europe will need gas from this pipeline,” Bajatovic said.
He’s working on accelerated gasification plans.
He noted that they are already working on plans for the accelerated gasification of Serbia, and will also work on the Nis-Dimitrovgrad-Sofia interconnection project, as well as the construction of the Belgrade-Banja Luka gas pipeline.
“Horgos will open for us, which means that we work according to all European principles.” We will have access to Baumgarten (gas hub in Austria) and probably Nord Stream 1 and 2, ”said the director of Srbijagas.
Bajatović noted that the most modern devices and materials, as well as equipment, were installed in the pipeline.
According to him, everything was done in accordance with European regulations and everything requested by the Energy Community was fulfilled, both in technical and commercial terms.
Bocan-Kharchenko: Serbia’s energy security guaranteed
The Russian ambassador to Serbia, Aleksandar Bocan-Kharchenko, agreed that the construction of this gas pipeline guaranteed the energy security of Serbia.
“The most important part of one of the global projects of our joint cooperation has been completed. This gas pipeline will provide stability to Serbia itself.” It will provide an opportunity for further development of internal infrastructure, and energy stability and security and stability of the power supply will be fully guaranteed, “said Kharchenko.
He noted that the construction of gas infrastructure fully fits into the economic development guidelines of Serbia.
“This gas pipeline will also provide energy security for the wider region, Central Europe,” Kharchenko said.
He added that the gas pipeline will provide additional opportunities for Serbia, in order to make it even more attractive for investment, because it is also becoming a gas transit country.
What is “Balkan Stream”?
The “Turkish Stream” gas pipeline, of which the main gas pipeline through Serbia is part, is a project of the Russian “Gazprom” and the Turkish “Botash”, which should provide a stable supply of gas to Turkey, the south and the south-east of Europe, with a total length of 930 kilometers. of 31.5 billion cubic meters of gas per year.
The first branch goes through Turkey, while the second branch goes to Bulgaria, Serbia and Hungary.
Serbia and Bulgaria call this part of the gas pipeline “Balkan Stream”.
The capacity of each arm is 15.75 billion cubic meters of gas.
This amount of energy is enough to meet the needs of 15 million medium-sized homes.
Work on the section of the gas pipeline through Serbia started in May 2019, as a replacement for “South Stream”, as it was abandoned in 2014 due to political pressure from the EU on Russia. ;
At first, the pipes will contain mainly Russian gas, but in the future, it will also be possible to supply them from other sources.
The gas pipeline is bi-directional, which means that Serbia receives energy from Bulgaria and Hungary.
The investor is “Gastrans”, a joint venture of “Srbijagas” and Russia’s “Gazprom”.
The gas pipeline is expected to help Serbia improve its energy security, and the preconditions are being created so that the price of gas will be more favorable for the economy and the population, while the country will also be more attractive to investors.
