Consumers in Serbia will not suffer for a long time due to the accident on the gas pipeline in Bulgaria. The accident showed how good it is that Serbia has and plans to build more gas storage facilities. It has also been shown how important it is that our country has provided imports from several directions, energy expert Jelica Putnikovic said.
Due to the bursting of the pipe in the compressor station on the gas pipeline in Bulgaria and the interruption of the delivery of that energy to Serbia, the Public Company “Srbijagas” urgently imported five million cubic meters of gas from Hungary. The company says that all gas supply systems in Serbia will be stabilized by the end of the working day.
The director of “Srbijagas”, Dusan Bajatovic, stated that the import will be continued tomorrow, if the accident is not repaired.
Energy expert Jelica Putnikovic said that, although the citizens of Novi Sad woke up this morning in cold apartments and without hot water, in essence, Serbia should not worry, considering that it also has its own gas reserves.
“The gas storage in Banatski Dvor is full, vital functions, vital parts of gas consumption, will certainly be supplied. The import of natural gas from Hungary has been secured, I believe that additional gas imports through Hungary are being negotiated. On the other hand, since Gazprom supplies gas to Serbia on the Bulgarian-Serbian border, the Russians will probably try to replace that gas, not only in Serbia, but also Hungary, which is supplied from the Turkish stream through Bulgaria and Serbia,” Putnikovic explains.
Asked what if a similar situation occurs in the middle of winter, when temperatures are low, and gas consumption is much higher, she said that this situation confirms how good it is that the expansion of gas storage capacity in our country is planned.
Serious work is being done to build another gas storage in Itebej. It is a depleted natural gas field. Recently, at the gas conference of the “Energy of the Balkans” portal, the first man of “Srbijagas” announced an increase in the storage capacity in Banatski Dvor that the Itebej field is intended for another gas storage, with a capacity of one billion cubic meters. With two storage facilities, Serbia will be ensured that it can be without supply through the Turkish stream for a longer period.”
Putnikovic adds that this situation has also shown that it is good that Serbia has a free supply route, that it can get gas from Hungary as well, because it is a situation in which something cannot be predicted.
“When it is not a cold winter, Serbia consumes up to 10 million cubic meters of gas a day. Today, five million are provided from Hungary, probably the same amount can be extracted from Banatski Dvor, which means that gas supply will be established very quickly.”
Bulgarian gas network operator Bulgartransgaz has cut off natural gas transport to Serbia and Hungary, after a pipeline burst near the village of Vetrino in the country’s northeast.
Due to the breakdown and interruption of the delivery of natural gas this morning at 6 o’clock, the delivery of natural gas to the Public Utility Company “Novosadska toplana” was completely suspended.
Gas will be provided for her during the day, and Jelica Putnikovic says that at this moment it is ungrateful to predict how much time Bulgarians will need to fix the fault.
“There is not enough information yet about the extent of the disaster, but they will certainly hurry to repair it as soon as possible, because the supply of part of Bulgaria is probably endangered. However, Serbia will certainly not run out of gas,” Putnikovic concluded, Sputnik News reports.
