Commercial Supply of Gas from TurkStream to Begin Between January and March

The Serbian section of the TurkStream gas pipeline, which is entering our country from Bulgaria, has started being filled with gas, and the first deliveries should start on January 1, 2021. This has been announced by the Russian media and reported by Sputnik, but Srbijagas has not yet made a statement regarding this, Novosti writes.

The Ministry of Energy told the daily that the technical test of the system and a test run, but also a commercial commissioning, could be done by the end of the year.

– The pressure in the gas pipeline is already sufficient to deliver the necessary quantities of this energy source to Serbia. Commercial supply of our country from TurkStream will most likely begin between January and March 2021 – the ministry specified.

The plan is for the compressor station in Serbia to be finished in May 2021, and Bulgaria has yet to finish its two stations. The ministry also says that, in Serbia, the works on block and measuring stations need to be finalized as well. However, they point out that the current pressure is sufficient and that this will not hamper the commissioning of the “Balkan Stream”, as the section through Bulgaria and Serbia is also known.

– When the compressor stations are operational, the gas pipeline will be operating at full capacity and will be able to supply the clients in Hungary and Austria – the ministry clarifies.

Pointing out how important the Balkan Stream is for the energy security of Serbia, they say that all the necessary quantities of gas can now be delivered from this direction to Serbia. According to them, Serbia will be more than secure, which has not been the case so far.

Vojislav Vuletic also points out that it is extremely important that the country will be able to get Russian gas through Bulgaria, because it will no longer depend on the gas delivered through Ukraine.

Several days ago, the Bulgarian company Bulgartransgaz confirmed that the preparations for the commissioning of the Balkan Stream were in progress. During the recent visit of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to Belgrade, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that the Serbian section of the gas pipeline would open by the end of December.

The TurkStream gas pipeline, which was commissioned on January 8, 2020, is laid down along the bottom of the Black Sea from Russia to the Turkish coast. It then goes on land to the borders with the neighboring countries. From Bulgaria, it enters Serbia and then goes farther to the EU. In the next phase, the gas from TurkStream should reach Hungary and, later, Austria. The flow capacity of the gas pipeline, which is 930 kilometers long, is 31.5 billion cubic meters of gas a year.

Ministarstvo rudarstva i energetike Republike Srbije

JP Srbijagas Novi Sad

Ministry of Energy

Srbijagas

Bulgartransgaz

TurkStream

Balkan Stream

Vojislav Vuletić

Russian gas

Serbian section of TurkStream