Mihajlovic: I Don’t Expect Energy Shortages or Cuts

The minister of mining and energy of Serbia, Zorana Mihajlovic, said today that Serbia did everything in its power to secure enough energy for the winter and that, judging by the reserves, no shortages or cuts were expected, her cabinet announced.

– The whole Europe and the world are preparing for the winter, and so are we. We already have substantial quantities of petrol, LNG, mazut and kerosine in our reserves, and we will work on increasing oil and petroleum product reserves to 90 days, although that is not an obligation – she said on TV K1.

She added that, considering the reserves, no shortages or cuts were expected.

– Even before, Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS) has not only been getting Russian oil, but also oil from Iraq and other countries. It is certain that this will cost us financially, because other countries will need to reorient as well, which will increase the demand and the prices will go up – she estimated.

She pointed out that, thanks to the agreement between the president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, and the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, 2.2 billion cubic meters of gas a year had been secured from Russia and that around 3 billion cubic meters was spent a year.

– The difference will be compensated for partly from the gas storage facility in Hungary and partly from the gas storage facility in Banatski Dvor, and next year we will be able to get around 40% of the gas, primarily from Azerbaijan, through the Nis-Dimitrovgrad gas pipeline – Mihajlovic said.

She added that the negotiations about the reservation of the capacities for the moment when the construction of the gas pipeline was finished were starting at that moment.

– We will need to spend probably up to a billion euros by the end of the year for the import of electrical energy and coal just because somebody hasn’t done their job. With everything that EPS is now investing and doing, primarily when it comes to mines, in early 2024, we should have the kind of electricity production that can meet our needs – Mihajlovic said.

Ministarstvo rudarstva i energetike Republike Srbije

Akcionarsko društvo Elektroprivreda Srbije Beograd

NIS a.d. Novi Sad

Ministry of Mining and Energy

Elektroprivreda Srbije

NIS

Zorana Mihajlović

energy shortages

preparations for the winter

winter season

production of electrical energy

gas storage facility in Hungary

Russian gas

procurement of gas

procurement of petrol