SARAJEVO (Bosnia and Herzegovina), January 5 (SeeNews) – There are no cuts in Russian natural gas deliveries to Bosnia for the time being but the ongoing price dispute between Russia and Ukraine my lead to a drop in supplies in the coming period, Bosnia’s gas importer BH Gas said on Monday.
Russia cut supplies to Ukraine as of January 1 after the two sides failed to agree on 2009 delivery and transit prices. A similar dispute between the two countries in 2006 disrupted shipments of Russian gas to Europe.
“Supplies have been regular so far, and the situation is normal. We have not received any notifications for cuts. Yet, no one knows what will happen, anything is possible,” BH Gas’s managing director, Almir Becarevic, told SeeNews over the telephone.
Becarevic said Bosnia currently consumes 1.6 million cubic metres of gas daily, which is more than average because of the very low winter temperatures. For comparison, in early December it consumed some 1.1 million cubic metres daily.
“Consumption is normal, and we have anticipated it [higher demand because of the cold weather],” Becarevic said.
He added the biggest gas consumer is gas distributor Sarajevogas, which supplies households in the capital Sarajevo with gas for heating. Smaller consumers are alumina plant Birac and Arcelor Mittal’s Bosnian steel mill, Arcelor Mittal Zenica (AMZ).
“If reductions in supply occur, most of the industries will be able to rely on alternative sources. In the case of Sarajevo households, they can rely on local heating utilities, and if it isn’t possible for some, we can supply those with priority,” Becarevic said.
Bosnia currently gets its natural gas, all of it originating in Russia, via a single pipeline coming from its eastern neighbour Serbia. The country is a relatively small consumer and imported 320 million cubic metres of the fuel in 2007. Consumption was projected at 340 million cubic metres for last year and 360 million cubic metres in 2009.