Russia eyes infrastructure development in Serbia

Russia is interested in supporting energy infrastructure development in Serbia beyond a recently-opened combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT), Russia's ambassador to Serbia has said.

Comments by the Russian diplomat Alexander Bocan-Harchenko followed the opening of the 189MW Pancevo CCGT in Serbia on Tuesday. The power plant is co-owned by Russia's Gazprom Energoholding Serbia and NIS, a subsidiary of Russia's Gazpromneft.

Russia is interested in building new gas interconnections with Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska and a new oil pipeline to Hungary, as well as supporting the "reconstruction" of facilities in which Russian companies have previously participated, he said.

Russia is currently the sole gas supplier to Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska. Russia recently expressed interest in building pipelines and gas-fired power plants in the Republika Srpska during a meeting with the Republic's leader in Moscow.

Serbia intends to build a new 1bn m³ gas storage facility in Itebej next year, after Russian state-controlled Gazprom refused to sell its section of the Banatski Dvor storage facility to Serbia.

Serbia is also constructing a new gas interconnector with Bulgaria, scheduled to be commissioned in September 2023, which will allow the country to diversify its imports away from a 2.2bn m³/yr contract with Gazprom, which is currently its only supplier.

Serbia and Hungary are discussing building a new link between Serbia and the Druzhba oil pipeline in Hungary, but the European Commission told Hungary last month it would not be allowed to send Urals crude to third countries like Serbia from early December, when an embargo on Russian oil is scheduled to begin.

By Brendan A'Hearn