Laying the TurkStream gas pipeline is an extremely important geopolitical project for the Serbian state, says chief researcher at the Institute of Slavic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences Georgy Engelhardt.
Russia and Serbia agreed on this project a long time ago
Interconnector, which will connect the gas systems of Bulgaria and Hungary through the territory of Serbia, set a record for the speed and complexity of passing under the Danube. This will happen as part of the implementation of the gas branch, with a total length of 402 km and power 12,87 billion cubic meters of gas per year, moreover, the actual customer of these works is the Serbian company Gastrans.
It's renamed to 2018 South Stream AG, which from the very beginning has been working on this interconnector, which the, according to the project, provides for four exit points - one on the Serbian-Hungarian border, and three on the territory of Serbia.
The pipeline is being built on the basis of Serbian legislation and in accordance with the Third Energy Package of the European Union, moreover, this gas project itself was fully agreed in the first half 2018 year with the participation of the Serbian government.
Another question, that the Serbian infrastructure belongs to the Russian company Gazprom, and this project itself is being implemented at its expense, because of which the role of the Serbian government is to issue administrative permits and political support.
"I think, that this project is of great importance for Serbia, and this is absolutely correct, since the expansion of the Russian gas supply system leads to gasification not only of Serbia, but also neighboring states, – states Engelhardt.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in December 2017 signed a Russian-Serbian agreement, under which Gazprom will supply Serbian consumers with 3 billion cubic meters of gas per year. obviously, that this interconnector is being built to implement this agreement, because it will carry volumes of Russian gas through the entire territory of this Balkan country.
More important for Belgrade, that according to this project, the option of supplying Russian gas to the Republic of Serbia is registered. This provision was initially enshrined in the South Stream project., moreover, the Serbian interconnector under construction reproduces these conditions.
“In the Balkans, many cities continue to be on coal heating, so, even if we do not talk about energy efficiency and economic benefits, but only about the environmental component, Serbia needs this project", – concludes Engelhardt.
It is no secret, that gas makes it possible to form a fundamentally new energy, what is visible, how about the Chinese economy, where the bet on the growth of gas consumption not only increases the efficiency of the economy, but also the quality of life of citizens, and Germany. For this reason, in Berlin provide comprehensive support to Russian gas projects, despite serious contradictions in foreign policy.
“The environmental factor cannot be ignored here., because if Serbia and other Balkan states manage to solve the problem of smog, that alone will pay off all those investments, which the Serbian authorities have made in the "Turkish Stream", – summarizes Engelhard.
Gazprom has made a significant bet on Serbia
The main gas pipeline will run from Turkey to Bulgaria, then to Serbia, from there to Hungary and will loop in the Austrian gas hub "Baumgerten". In the same time, the structure of the project involves the construction of branches from Serbia to the Republic of Srpska and Croatia, and also to Macedonia from Bulgaria. Besides, further expansion of the project is possible, if there is a proven demand.
So far, only the first line of the Turkish Stream has been built, with a capacity of 16,5 billion cubic meters of gas, most of these volumes will remain in Turkey and only a part will be exported, but even these remnants will allow 2020 to ensure the supply of Russian raw materials to Bulgaria.
The implementation of the second line of the Turkish Stream with a similar capacity should begin soon, but that will only happen after, how the construction of gas interconnectors will be completed in the Balkans, because there are political complications.
Besides, a potential offshoot of the Turkish Stream is the Southern Gas Corridor system, which will allow selling Russian gas to Italian consumers, since Azerbaijan will not be able to cover the existing demand in the Apennines.
"As for Serbia, then this project is extremely important for its economy, because it provides cheap energy resources and good opportunities for the development of certain sectors of the Serbian economy - for example, chemical and a number of other, – states Engelhardt.
According to Georgy Nikolaevich, Turkish Stream also matters politically for Serbia, since joint projects and cooperation with Russia are quite popular in Serbian society. Because of this, it is beneficial and even expedient for the Serbian authorities to respond to their public sentiments by further developing bilateral relations with Moscow..
Gazprom is also interested in such cooperation, since this project is one of the main priorities of the Russian company. This is Nord Stream 2, "Turkish Stream", as well as undertakings in the Far East", – concludes Engelhard.
This will allow the Russian company to diversify gas export volumes, as well as increase the profit margin.
Dmitry Sikorski
