With January 1, 2020 approaching, the issue of energy security in Serbia is becoming more and more urgent, since at the end of this year a long-standing agreement on the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine, which is the only route for gas to reach Serbia directly, expires.
At the recent’s meeting between the presidents of Serbia and Russia, Alexander Vucic and Vladimir Putin in Sochi, gas supply was a topic, with particular reference to the Turkish Stream
Serbia is expected to finish building the pipeline from Bulgaria to the Hungarian border by the end of the year as agreed, but works through Bulgaria from the Turkish Stream to Serbia are far behind. Putin also referred to this.
– We are ready. The Serbian part of the pipeline from the Bulgarian-Hungarian border is almost ready, with 90% already installed. The issue is at transit stations, but what we see, despite the many assurances and requests from the Russian side, is to ensure delivery through Turkey and Bulgaria. We see that the Bulgarian side deliberately delays the implementation of the project on its territory – said the Russian president, adding that Russia had repeatedly called on Bulgaria to implement the Turkish flow, but that the Bulgarian leadership was “probably under pressure, not in a hurry.” “We will see how this project will be further implemented in the Bulgarian territory. If the Bulgarian leadership does not want this flow, we will find other opportunities in the south of Europe”, Putin threatened. Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Boyko Borisov did not wait long, explaining the delay because of the procedures required by EU membership.
– We are neither Serbia, nor Russia, nor Turkey. We had procedures and tenders approved by the European Commission. If it were for Serbia or Turkey, the contractor would have been selected without a tender. And Bulgaria respects the procedures, Borisov said in an interview for local television bTV, adding that about 150 kilometers had already been dug and that pipes were being installed at a rate of about five kilometers a day, urging Putin to come and see for himself the speed of work.
After meeting with Putin, Vucic said that they discussed the purchase of additional quantities of gas and that he received assurances that Serbia would be able to procure that energy from the territory of some other countries as well and that it could wait with certainty for the first and second quarters of next year, regardless on how the talks between Russia and Ukraine will go.
Ljubinko Savic, a senior advisor to the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, said in a written response to Danas that if transit through Ukraine is interrupted, there are some alternative routes.
There is certainly an alternative, although slightly less favorable, longer transport, and then there is the issue of spare capacity on these routes. The current alternatives are primarily transit routes via Belarus, Poland and Slovakia and the second route is North Stream 1. In addition to the direct supply of Russian gas via these two routes, there is also the possibility of supplying natural gas in crisis situations from underground natural gas storage facilities in Europe, in first underground storage facilities that exist in Austria (Baumgarten), Slovakia or Hungary, where large quantities of natural gas are stored. In addition, with domestic production and production from the Banatski Dvor Underground Warehouse, Serbia is provided with the required quantities of gas for consumption by priority customers in the winter – Savic said.
He adds that there is a growing interest of the industry in connection to the gas pipeline network, and some industries located outside the distribution areas are resorting to the use of CNG (compressed natural gas) as the most energy efficient and efficient energy source, and significant investments are made in expanding the distribution system in the central, southern and southwestern Serbia where new consumers are expected.
However, experts believe the gas game in Europe is over. Energy expert Milos Zdravkovic says that by losing North Stream 1 as well as ending North Stream 2, then building TANAP (Transanadolian Pipeline) and at the end of Turkish Stream, Ukraine has lost all blackmail power against Russia and that it will surely conclude new deal
– The Russians are offering Ukraine a one-year contract and the Ukrainians are seeking long-term transit agreements, but I have no doubt they will agree. At the moment when Germany and Russia found common interest in gas supply, the gas game was over. Putin’s statements threatening Bulgaria to relocate the Turkish Stream hub are more for internal use. Although the Bulgarians, probably under pressure, have ruined the South Stream, which was four times larger than the Turkish Stream and from which they would have far higher transit revenues, as well as the construction of a nuclear power plant in Belene, they are still building the Turkish Stream and will finish it next year – notes Zdravkovic and adding that without the Ukrainian gas pipeline, warehouses in Europe, as well as the Nord Stream 1, whose only half capacity is used, can provide supplies during the winter.
Otherwise, the Turkish Stream consists of two pipes with a capacity of 15.75 billion cubic meters, one intended for Turkey and the other for Southern and Southeastern Europe, writes Danas.
