Serbia: Energy cooperation with Romania to enhance, electricity cross border capacity to be increased

Published on 23. September 2014., News Serbia Energy

Romania is prepared, if needed, to provide Serbia with the missing quantities of electricity and coal at most favorable prices, says Aleksandar Antic.

Romanian Minister of Energy Eugen Nicolescu conveyed his assurance that the Government of Romania will provide all necessary support, assistance and consent for permits, in case additional quantities of electricity and purchase of missing quantities of coal from Romania, are needed, said Serbian Minister of Energy and Mining, after his return from Bucharest.

He also said that he and his Romanian colleague discussed several subjects, inter alia the possibility for Romania to increase its distributive capacity for electricity transmission towards Serbia, in the winter period, if necessary.

‘’We have received assurances from our Romanian friends that, within existing possibilities, they will be completely open for such our requests, said Serbian Minister of Energy and Mining.

He added that during the winter, if necessary, Serbia will invite tender for procurement of coal for thermal power plants, and expressed his expectation that, in case this happens, Romanian coal will have most favorable price, since state mines are concerned.

‘‘With respect to our situation, they will try not to behave completely commercial in this’’, Antic evaluated.

Serbian Minister of Energy and Mining conveyed that two Ministries agreed in Bucharest, to give full support to Trans Balkan corridor – electric energy transmission system of 400 kilo-volts, which is being developed by public enterprise Elektromreže Srbije (EMS) and its partners from Romania and other partners from the whole region.

The first section from Romanian town Rešice to Pančevo will represent new connection between Serbia and Romania, announced Antic and pointed out that two Governments will give their full support to realization of that project, while Serbian Ministry of Mining and Energy also prepared a special Law on realization of that corridor, which already entered Government’s procedure.

Antic announced that there is an ongoing consideration of a plan for construction of product pipeline from Pancevo refinery to Timisoara, for transporting petroleum products to Romanian market, and noticed that two working groups were formed. One of them has the assignment to assess the situation on that pipeline and the possibility for its putting into operation, so that our Transnafta on one side, and its Romanian partners on the other, could use that pipeline primarily for transport of petroleum products from Pancevo refinery.

Naftna Industrija Srbije, which is also part of that working group, is expecting from that pipeline to be able to reduce transport costs, making that way NIS to become absolutely most competitive in that part of Romanian market, assessed Antic.

Second working party, whose formation was settled yesterday in Bucharest, has the task to make a feasibility study for realization of the project of oil pipeline between Konstanca and Pancevo, with the idea of a revival of what was once Serbian-Romanian-Croatian project.

’’We agreed for my Romanian colleague Nicolescu to visit Serbia within next couple of months, to make a joint overview and to open discussions on possibility for creating gas interconnection between Serbia and Romania’’, Antic gave a hint.

He conveyed a mutual evaluation that serious regional energy stability, needs full regional cooperation, diversification of supply sources, and more transnational interconnections. Transnational connecting will expand options for supply of key energy sources, making this entire area far more stable in energy, and more independent than it is now, Antic concluded.