July 14 (SeeNews) - Serbia is in the initial stage of negotiations with Azerbaijan on natural gas deliveries starting next year, in a bid to diversify its suppliers, the country's energy ministry told SeeNews on Thursday.
“In preparation for next year and the completion of the works on the interconnectorion with Bulgaria, the possibilities and potential sources of natural gas supply through this route are being analysed, and one of the sources of natural gas supply is Azerbaijan,” the ministry said in an emailed statement.
In February, Serbia kicked off the construction of a link to Bulgaria's gas transmission system. The pipeline, which will have a capacity of 1.8 billion cubic meters, is due for completion in September 2023. It will allow for supplies coming via the Greece-Bulgaria interconnection, the energy ministry added.
Last week, a Greece-Bulgaria natural gas interconnector was inaugurated. The pipeline connects to the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), allowing for additional quantities of gas from Azerbaijan that arrive in Greek ports to flow to Italy and the wider Southeast Europe (SEE) region. It will also enable the flow of liquefied natural gas to Bulgaria and SEE from Greece's Alexandroupolis LNG terminal, paving the way for potential future LNG imports from the US, Algeria, Qatar, Egypt and other suppliers. The pipeline is seen as a crucial element of the European Union's plans to give up Russian gas supplies entirely by 2030 and beyond.
Serbia is entirely dependent on Russia for its gas supplies
In June, Serbian energy minister Zorana Mihajlovic signed an agreement on cooperation in energy with Azerbaijan.