Serbia in talks with SOCAR on gas supplies of up to 0.9 bcm per year
BAKU. April 15 (Interfax) - Serbia and Azerbaijan are discussing the possibility of supplying up to 0.9 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas per year to the Balkan country, Serbian Mining and Energy Minister Dubravka Dedovic Handanovic said.
"In our discussions with SOCAR [State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic] representatives, we are considering the possibility of flexible supply of up to 0.9 billion cubic meters of gas annually, and, following the completion of the gas-fired power plant in Nis in 2030, an increase to up to 1.4 billion cubic meters," the minister was quoted as saying in an interview with Azerbaijani agency Report.
She recalled that Serbia's gas supplies from Azerbaijan have doubled since the countries began a gas partnership three years ago, to about 2 million cubic meters per day.
She also said that the launch of the gas interconnection with North Macedonia will give Serbia access to the Southern Gas Corridor from two directions, meaning through North Macedonia and Bulgaria, which will further broaden prospects for importing gas from Azerbaijan. The planned gas pipeline will have capacity of about 1.5 bcm per year.
"Together with the already completed interconnection with Bulgaria, which has a capacity of 1.8 billion cubic meters annually, this will provide Serbia with significantly greater opportunities for diversified gas supply, given that the country's annual consumption ranges between 2.8 and 3.1 billion cubic meters," Dedovic Handanovic said.
The gas interconnection with North Macedonia is a strategically important project that will provide Serbia with an additional connection to the Southern Gas Corridor, as well as the LNG terminal in Greece, she said.
"Our goal is to complete the Serbia-North Macedonia gas interconnection by the end of 2027, so that it can become operational in early 2028," the minister said.
"New interconnections and capacities are essential in light of the growing demand for gas, driven by the country's industrial development, the expansion of the domestic gas network, and district heating systems, where we are phasing out the use of fuel oil and coal," Dedovic Handanovic said.
It is also essential for Serbia to strengthen its internal transmission network in order to avoid bottlenecks in the supply of gas from the Bulgaria-Serbia gas pipeline and the planned interconnector with North Macedonia, she said.
"We are currently negotiating with the World Bank on a multi-phase program valued at around one billion euros, which will increase our internal transmission capacities," the minister said.
Speaking about the implementation of a joint project with SOCAR to build a gas turbine power plant on the outskirts of Nis, Dedovic Handanovic said that "over the next month, we plan to finalize and formalize the main provisions and commercial terms for the construction of the gas-fired power plant, including the timelines for design and construction."
"The total investment value is still under assessment, and more detailed information will be available once the two parties formally finalize the agreement in the coming period," the minister said.
Baku and Belgrad signed an intergovernmental agreement on February 15, 2026 on the construction of gas-fired power plant in Serbia with capacity of 500 MW. The project, which the countries plan to implement on a parity basis, will be carried out by SOCAR and Serbia's Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS) and Srbijagas. The Serbian authorities expect the plant to go into operation in 2029.
The countries are now actively developing cooperation in the area of gas supplies. SOCAR signed a contract with Srbijagas in November 2023 to supply up to 400 mcm of gas in 2024-2026, with the possibility of increasing supplies in 2027.
