Mining and Energy Minister Aleksandar Antic is attending the Sixth Ministerial Meeting of the Advisory Council of the Southern Gas Corridor, which is being held in Baku, and was opened by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, Serbia’s Minister of Economy at the invitation of Azerbaijan’s Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov and European Energy Commissioner Kadri Simpson.
Minister Antic pointed to the great importance of the Southern Gas Corridor for the diversification of gas supply in Southeast Europe. He recalled that Serbia’s commitment to the development of the project was demonstrated by the participation of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic at the completion of the Trans-Anadolian Pipeline (TANAP) in June 2018, as well as at the TANAP and TAP interconnection ceremony. The Minister stressed his belief that the project would have a significant impact on the Western Balkans gas supply.
He stressed that Serbia is intensively working on interconnections with neighboring countries, which will enable gas supply from new sources. In this regard, interconnection with Bulgaria is crucial through the construction of the Nis-Dimitrovgrad-Sofia gas pipeline, supported by the European Union and for which a grant of 49.6 million euros has been secured.
“I am convinced that these projects, which we are rapidly implementing with partners, clearly show our strategic commitment to diversify our gas supply, and we want security and stability in supply, not only of Serbia, but of the entire region. In that sense, connecting with the South is important for us. We consider the gas corridor an important project for energy security of Serbia and the entire Western Balkans region”, said Minister Antic.
“The Bulgaria-Serbia Interconnection (IBS), expected to be completed by the beginning of 2022 at the latest, together with the Greece-Bulgaria Interconnection (IGB), connects Serbia to the Southern Gas Corridor and opens up opportunities for future supply of gas from the Caspian Basin, through the TANAP and TAP pipelines as well as the LNG terminals in the region”, emphasized Antic.
The minister also reminded that Serbia has built a line section of the Main Gas Pipeline from the Bulgarian border to the 403 km border with Hungary, which is a continuation of the Turkish Stream pipeline.
“This project is of strategic importance for Serbia and in 2020 we will build supporting infrastructure, including compressor stations. This represents a new supply route, primarily with Russian gas, thus increasing Serbia’s energy security. Diversification of sources is significant for Serbia question, and we remain open to the development of different projects”, Antic concluded.
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev said that the Advisory Council had made a significant contribution to boosting the efforts and implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor project, underlined the importance of launching TANAP, one of the major segments of the project, and added that the TAP project was coming to an end.
Azerbaijan’s Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov said the Southern Gas Corridor has been an effective format for cooperation over the years and made a significant contribution to the project. It was officially opened at the Sangachal terminal in May 2018 as part of a project comprising four segments – Shah Deniz 2, the South Caucasus gas pipeline, TANAP and TAP.
Azerbaijan annually hosts a Ministerial meeting within the Advisory Council for the Southern Gas Corridor, with a total length of about 3,500 km.
The Ministerial Meeting was attended by Deputy Assistant Secretary for US Energy Policy, Kurt Donelli, Deputy Director General of the European Commission’s Energy Directorate Klaus – Dieter Borhart, Bulgarian Energy Minister Temenuska Petkova, Georgia Economy Minister Natia Turnava, as well as delegations from the United Kingdom, Turkey, Italy, USA, Georgia, Greece, Montenegro, Croatia, Romania and Hungary, as well as representatives of the Gas Companies participating in the project, RTV reports.
