Serbia will have enough gas this winter regardless of the situation in Ukraine

Belgrade, July 24 - Neftegaz.RU. It is becoming increasingly clear that Moscow will cease transporting gas via the pipeline controlled by Kiev by the year-end, Serbian Monitor reported. Head Srbijagas, Dušan Bajatović says that, regardless of Moscow’s decision, people and businesses in Serbia will have enough gas.

The fear that a large number of gas users in Europe will face cold houses in the 1st few weeks of next year is based in reality. The prospects that Moscow will completely stop the transit of gas through Ukraine by the end of this year seem true. In Serbia, however, the authorities believe that there is no cause for concern and that there will be sufficient quantities of gas to cover the needs of both citizens and businesses.

The executive director of Naftogaz Ukraine, Yuri Vitrenko recently said that the company was preparing to completely suspend the transit of gas from Russia via the Ukrainian territory in late 2019. There is currently little chance that Kyiv and Moscow will agree on the terms of gas transit through Ukraine.

The authorities in Serbia, however, are not concerned. They say that Serbia will have enough gas for its needs in the coming year.

“Serbia will not freeze if the transport of gas through Ukraine is interrupted. We have developed different scenarios for gas supply to cover all scenarios,” Bajatović added. He, however, did not want to reveal what were the ways to ensure a safe supply of natural gas to the country.

Experts point out that Serbia should be safe in terms of gas supply. According to Vojislav Vuletić, a gas expert, it is possible that, already in January 2020, Serbia will start receiving gas via the Turkish Stream.

“A leg of this pipeline is under construction in Serbia and, as far as I know, in Bulgaria too. So, on January 1st next year, we could get gas from Russia in that way too. If this fails, we’ll get gas from Europe through Nord Stream 1 and 2. Secondly, all factories and most heating plants in Serbia can use gas or crude oil. They can work on both sources of energy. The gas is paid for later, while the crude oil is ordered in advance and is paid for immediately,” says Vuletić.

According to Vojislav Vuletić, the gas reserves in the Banatski Dvor underground storage would be sufficient to meet the needs for at least 90 days. “This would mean that we can calmly wait for the end of winter,” he said.

Author: Snezana Bjelotomic