In a success for the Serbia government which is trying to avoid an energy crisis, the state gas monopoly Srbijagas has signed a 10-year deal to import natural gas from Russia’s Gazprom at a 5% discount to the current agreement.
Deputy energy minister Petar Stanojevic told local news agency Tanjug that Serbia, fully reliant on Russia for gas imports and a signed-up partner to Gazprom’s planned South Stream gas pipeline, will now pay $399 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas, and the price could be cut to around $370 in the course of the year because of a fall in prices of oil on the world market.
Stanojevic also said that Srbijagas has agreed to settle its $40 million outstanding debt to Gazprom for gas deliveries made in the 1990s in two installments in 2013 and 2014.
Over the next 10 years Gazprom will deliver 5 billion cubic metres of gas per year to Serbia, or more than double the Balkan country’s current annual needs. Under the deal, will be required to take 85 percent of the total amount.
Source Balkans
