Srbijagas CEO: We Will Import Natural Gas as Long as Necessary

Gas Pipeline (Free Image)

Dusan Bajatovic, the CEO of Srbijagas, Serbia’s state-owned natural gas provider, has said that due to the pipeline rupture in Bulgaria, Serbia will continue to import gas as long as is necessary, adding that although the Banatski Dvor underground storage facility is full there are technical limitations to using its supply, the Politika daily reported on Nov. 3.

Bajatovic told the paper that the maximum amount of gas that can be drawn daily from Banatski Dvor is five million cubic meters. “Despite the fact that the reservoir holds another 450 million cubic meters or so, until the storage facility is expanded, the daily quantity we can use to meet consumer needs is limited to five million cubic meters,” the Srbijagas director said.

According to him, gas consumption in warm weather is 7.5 million cubic meters per day, while the number grows to between 10 and 11 million on averagely cold days and reaches as much as 13 million cubic meters when temperatures drop significantly. “Obviously, the extra amounts [needed] must be secured through either regular or emergency imports,” Bajatovic explained.

The CEO stressed that these technical limitations are the main reason gas has been imported over the past two days from Hungary, the Ukraine and partly from Austria.

Bajatovic added that he expects the issues with the Bulgarian pipeline to be fixed soon. “The situation is being closely monitored and we will continue to import the [necessary] extra amounts [of gas] to add to what we already have at Banatski Dvor,” he concluded.