Azerbaijan's gas cut leaves Serbia seeking energy alternatives
Serbia's gas supply from Azerbaijan was cut off on Saturday, as confirmed by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić. He noted that the country has lost access to the 1.7 million cubic meters of resources it previously received daily.
Serbia has ceased receiving its daily supply of 1.7 million cubic meters of natural gas from Azerbaijan due to issues on the Azerbaijani side, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić announced. He emphasized that the country must depend more heavily on its existing gas reserves to address the shortfall.
Earlier, we reported that the Serbian Oil Industry (NIS) was under pressure from the United States, which demands the withdrawal of Russian capital from the company. Vučić spoke of "exceptionally severe sanctions" from the United States.
Azerbaijan halted gas transmission to Serbia
Gas from Azerbaijan began being delivered to Serbia at the end of 2023. During this winter, the country was supposed to receive Azerbaijani supplies throughout the heating season. Serbia's energy minister, Dubravka Djedović Handanović, assured in September that over 990,000 cubic metres of gas would flow daily from Azerbaijan to Belgrade. So far, the resource reached Serbia via a pipeline running through neighbouring Bulgaria.
Until the connection was established, Serbia was dependent on Russian gas. Domestic production covered just under 13% of needs; the rest was imported exclusively from the Russian Federation.
On Friday, the Serbian Oil Industry (NIS), the largest oil company in the country, was subject to American sanctions as it is predominantly controlled by the Russian energy industry. Since 2008, the Russian enterprises Gazprom and Gazprom Neft have been the majority shareholders of NIS.
According to Azertag.az, at the beginning of January, the Serbian president described Azerbaijan as a dependable partner in Serbia's natural gas supplies. He also highlighted that approximately 425 million cubic meters of gas are stored in underground reserves in Serbia and Hungary.
