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See News (25 May 2018)

Serbia's energy minister Aleksandar Antic said the government is in talks with Gazprom over a potential increase of natural gas exports to the country and the participation of the Russian company in the development of Serbia's gas transit network.

"We will continue to negotiate on the possibilities for increasing gas exports to Serbia through a long-term supply contract with Gazprom," Antic said in a video file posted on the website of Serbian news agency Tanjug on Thursday. 

Gazprom's exports of natural gas to Serbia have increased by 6% on the year since the beginning of 2018, mainly due to the economic growth in the country, and this trend is expected to continue, Antic said following a meeting with the chairman of the Russian company, Alexey Miller, in the framework of the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

In 2017, Gazprom increased its natural gas exports to Serbia by 21.2% to 2.119 billion cubic metres, company data shows.

Gazprom is also interested in the strengthening of the gas transit system of Serbia, mainly in the direction from the Bulgarian to the Hungarian border, Antic said. 

Earlier this month, Serbian company Gastrans, a subsidiary of Swiss-based South Stream Serbia, said it has received non-binding bids for the import of 9.079 billion kWh per day into Serbia for the 2019-2039 period. The company received non-binding bids for the transit of a total of 5.258 kWh per day of natural gas to Hungary in 2019-2039 as part of a market test executed in April for the reservation of capacity of a natural gas pipeline that will connect Bulgaria and Hungary via the Serbian territory, Gastrans said in a notice posted on its website.

Gazprom has committed to conclude the technical study on the project for the expansion of the Banatski Dvor natural gas storage facility in Serbia and to make a favourable investment decision on the project in the short term, Antic added.

In March, Antic said the government plans to increase the daily supply capacity of Banatski Dvor to 10 million cubic metres (mcm) from 4.3 mcm currently. In the first phase of the expansion of Banatski Dvor, the capacity of the gas storage facility will become 750 mcm before going up to 1 billion cubic metres at a later stage, Antic said back then.

Gazprom owns a stake of 51% in Banatski Dvor. Srbijagas controls the remainder.

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