Minister: Azerbaijani gas to cover about one third of Serbia's needs

Geography of Azerbaijan's energy supplies may expand to Serbia next year. The delegation of Serbia led by President Aleksandar Vucic paid a working visit to Azerbajan in December. By results of the visit, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev voiced confidence that practical steps will be taken beginning next year for the export of Azerbaijani energy sources and electricity to Serbia.

This issue is of special importance considering the fact that European countries depending on the Russian gas started to look for alternatives to ensuring its energy security and diversifying supplies of energy sources.

Report presents an interview with Serbian Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Đedović, who spoke about the energy cooperation with Azerbaijan:

As said, Serbia plans to start buying electricity from Azerbaijan in early 2023. Which volumes are we talking about? Are the negotiations on the remaining issues related to electricity transmission from Azerbaijan through Turkiye and Bulgaria completed?

The talks we held in Baku with the Ministers of energy and economy of Azerbaijan, as well as with leading energy companies, are significant for the implementation of our plans for the diversification of the supply of energy sources and increasing energy independence. One of the important topics discussed was the possibility of importing electricity from Azerbaijan, not only this winter. We are analysing the costs of electricity transmission from Azerbaijan, in order to reach a solution that is also cost- efficient, in addition to additional security of supply.

Among other things, we discussed the planned construction of a submarine cable under the Black Sea, for which an agreement was signed recently, and under which Azerbaijan is supposed to supply significant amounts of electricity to Europe. The possibility of electricity from Azerbaijan to be supplied to our neighbours, Romania and Hungary, is an additional motivation for us to work even more efficiently on the development of our transmission network and improving connectivity with our neighbours, which is still one of our priorities.

Serbia was planning to cover 40 percent of its gas needs with non-Russian or Azerbaijani gas from September 2023. Did you reach any agreement on a matter? What gas volumes will be imported from Azerbaijan?

During the visit to Baku, we discussed the volumes of gas that can be supplied to Serbia from Azerbaijan, and we expect that in the future we will be able to cover about one third of our needs from this source. We also discussed the possibilities for the construction of gas-fired power plants in Serbia, which would also contribute to our energy independence.

How do you see the possibility of exporting green energy to Europe at the expense of the huge wind and solar energy potential of Azerbaijan?

Europe is facing the challenge of having to diversify its sources of supply, and in that respect, connecting with countries that have the potential to increase the production and export of energy sources and electricity, such as Azerbaijan, is one of the ways to achieve that goal. It can be expected that with an increase in the share of RES, as one of the pillars of the energy transition in all countries, the opportunity to export green energy will also increase, and the construction of interconnections is crucial for that energy to reach other markets. Simultaneously with the construction of new capacities for the generation of electricity, including energy from RES, Serbia is also developing connections with several neighbouring countries. The construction of interconnections has to go hand in hand with the increase in production capacities in order to achieve the connectivity and market development and greater energy security.

How will connecting the Southern Gas Corridor with new built interconnectors contribute to energy security of Serbia and the Balkan countries aiming to lessen Russia’s share in their energy imports? At what stage is the construction of the Serbia-Bulgaria (Nis-Dimitrovgrad) gas pipeline, which will allow Serbia's integration into the Southern Gas Corridor?

In February of this year, we started the construction of the gas interconnector to Bulgaria, and the completion of the works is planned for the last quarter of 2023. This gas pipeline, whose capacity is 1.8 billion cubic meters in the direction of Serbia will enable to establish a connection to all gas sources which are reaching Greece, including gas pipelines on the Southern Gas Corridor. By diversifying suppliers, Serbia will increase its energy security, as well as the possibility to become a transit country through which that gas will reach other countries in the region and in the EU.

How does the new agreement on cooperation in the fields of energy and mining, signed by Parviz Shahbazov, Azerbaijan's Energy Minister and Zorana Mihajlovic, Serbia's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Mining and Energy, contribute to further development of cooperation in this field?

Serbia and Azerbaijan have established strategic cooperation based on the friendly relations between the presidents of the two countries, Aleksandar Vučić and Ilham Aliyev. The pillar of that cooperation is the energy sector, in which, among other things, we have a signed agreement between the two governments on cooperation in the field of energy and mining. The talks we had during the visit to Azerbaijan with our counterpart ministers and leaders of the largest energy companies have shown that we did not stop at signing this document, but that our cooperation will yield concrete results, primarily in the field of energy supply and increasing energy security.

How do you think the agreements reached during Serbia's visit to Azerbaijan can contribute to the further cooperation of countries?

Based on the good relations between the two presidents, the relations between Serbia and Azerbaijan are gaining strategic importance, and the important topics that we have raised in a short time regarding the supply of gas and electricity only confirm this. The field of energy represents one of the most important areas of cooperation between our two countries, and all results that we achieve will be an indication of the economic progress, but also of the entire bilateral cooperation.