Testing of the gas interconnector between Bulgaria and Serbia will begin within days

The Serbia-Bulgaria gas interconnector will be put into trial operation in a few days, Serbian Minister of Mining Industry and Energy Dubravka Jedovic Handanovic was quoted as saying by Tanyug on December 2..

"Colleagues from the Ministry of Mining Industry and Energy have been on the ground for three weeks, together with contractors and subcontractors, to oversee the timely completion of works and the fulfilment of all conditions for the pipeline to be put into trial operation, which we expect to happen in the coming days," Djedovic Handanovic told Tanjug.

The minister stressed that all participants in the project are extremely committed to diversify Serbia's gas supply. She also recalled the contract Serbia recently signed in Azerbaijan for the supply of about 400 million cubic meters of gas per year.

In her words, Serbia can rely on this amount of gas until 2026, and then on almost three times more gas from this country, as well as from the Caspian region, and also from Greece, from a liquefied natural gas terminal.

"So in effect we are getting another source of gas, we are increasing our role as a transit country, because Hungary is getting its gas through Serbia, as well as other EU and regional countries," she said.

According to Djedovic Handanovic, there are plans to build additional interconnectors, mainly with North Macedonia.

She stressed that Serbia has sufficient gas reserves in storage and that thanks to these reserves, if unforeseen situations arise, there will be a secure supply of blue fuel.

The Serbia-Bulgaria gas interconnector is part of a wider EU initiative, namely the Southern Gas Corridor, which aims to reduce Europe's dependence on Russian gas.

In Serbia, the length of the Bulgaria-Serbia interconnector (IBS) is 109 kilometres, while the total length of the pipeline through the two countries is 170 kilometres - from Novi Iskar near Sofia to Nis. The pipeline will have a capacity of 1.8 billion cubic metres of gas per year.

Source: BTA