According to Index, the Heads of State of Serbia, Bulgaria, and Azerbaijan, along with the head of the European Union mission in Belgrade, collaboratively initiated the activation of the gas interconnector. This infrastructure, currently undergoing a testing phase, will facilitate the transportation of Azerbaijani gas from Bulgaria to Serbia, ultimately enabling its onward transmission to Hungary.
“This will also strengthen energy security in important Serbian cities such as Niš, Dimitrovgrad, Beira Palanka and Pirot. In the future we will also have the opportunity to purchase natural gas from 6 to 7 LNG terminals, This plays an important role in Serbia’s overall energy security,” added Aleksandar Vučić.
In 2021, Azerbaijan, a significant supplier to the European Union, provided the EU with 8.2 billion cubic meters of natural gas. The Azeri President anticipates that this figure will surpass 12 billion cubic meters in the current year. Notably, Hungary has committed to purchasing 100 million cubic meters from this total, as established through an agreement between Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Azeri President Ilham Aliyev during the summer season.
The new interconnector between Dimitrovgrad in Bulgaria and Nis near the border was constructed over a period of approximately one year. The overall length of the interconnector, spanning from Sofia to Serbia’s third-largest city, measures 170 kilometres. Currently, in test operation, the interconnector has a yearly capacity of 1.8 billion cubic meters of natural gas, accounting for 60 per cent of Serbia’s total annual gas demand.
