Less dependence on Russia: Serbia and Bulgaria complete gas pipeline construction
Less dependence on Russia: Serbia and Bulgaria complete gas pipeline construction (photo: Getty Images)
Serbia and Bulgaria complete construction of a joint gas pipeline to reduce dependence on Russia, states Bloomberg.
The pipeline spans 170 kilometers from the Serbian city of Nis to the outskirts of Sofia, Bulgaria’s capital, with an annual capacity of 1.8 billion cubic meters. That could cover as much as 60% of Serbia’s consumption.
A link with Bulgaria will give Serbia access to new gas sources. The new link will enable Serbia to access alternative gas supplies from Greece or Azerbaijan, while also providing Bulgaria with access to gas from Western Europe or the Adriatic Sea.
At the same time, the new Balkan pipeline will reduce gas dependence on Russia.
In February of this year, we reported that Bulgaria had begun construction of a long-delayed gas line with neighboring Serbia, which will allow non-Russian gas to be supplied to Belgrade and increase the reliability of supplies to southeastern Europe.
Meanwhile, in November, Bulgaria began charging an additional tax on the transit of Russian gas.
