Djedovic: Serbia to Complete Construction of Gas Interconnection with Bulgaria This Autumn

Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Djedovic said in Baku on Friday that Serbia would complete the construction of a gas interconnection with Bulgaria in autumn, which would connect it to gas sources from Azerbaijan, the Caspian region, as well as to LNG terminals in Greece.

At the ministerial meeting of the Advisory Council of the Southern Gas Corridor in Azerbaijan, Djedovic pointed out that Serbia had gotten more actively involved in the Southern Gas Corridor at a later phase, but that it was working at a rapid pace toward becoming part of this great value chain, which would provide it with a diversification of the sources and a greater security of supply.

The minister added that the first deliveries of gas through this pipeline were expected at the beginning of 2024, which also depended on the speed of commercial negotiations of all involved parties, as announced on the website of the Government of Serbia.

We hope to have maximum efficiency there as well so that the gas from Azerbaijan could flow toward Serbia as soon as possible, Djedovic said.

She underlined that Serbia and Azerbaijan had better and better bilateral relations, primarily thanks to the good relations of the presidents of the two countries, Aleksandar Vucic and Ilham Aliyev, and that an important expression of those relations was precisely the cooperation in the field of energy.

During our visit to Baku, we will also talk to our partners from Azerbaijan about the quantities and the price of gas that we would get with the new gas interconnection, about the potential construction of gas power plants, as well as about the possibilities for securing additional quantities of electrical energy from Azerbaijan, on which other EU states are working as well, Djedovic said.

In her presentation at the ministerial meeting, Djedovic pointed out that Azerbaijani gas had been recognized as part of the solution for the diversification of the gas supply sources in Europe and that, thanks to the new gas interconnections, it was also becoming part of the solution for a greater energy security of Serbia, but also the region.

The construction of gas interconnections and better connections with neighbors opens up space for Serbia to improve not only its energy security, but also to be a transit country through which Azerbaijani gas will reach other countries in the region and the EU, noted Djedovic.

The minister also spoke with Minister of Energy of Romania Virgil Popescu about bilateral cooperation in the field of energy, including cooperation in connection with HPP Djerdap and potential projects, development of transmission systems and opportunities for gas interconnections.

Ministarstvo rudarstva i energetike Republike Srbije

Vlada Republike Srbije

Ministry of Mining of Serbia

Government of Serbia

Dubravka Djedovic

gas interconnection Serbia Bulgaria

Serbia Bulgaria gas pipeline

gas from Azerbaijan

Azerbaijani gas

LNG terminals in Greece

gas supply

gas diversification

HPP Djerdap

Virgil Popescu