Serbia to build oil pipeline to Hungary

BELGRADE, 8 Oct – PRIME. Serbia, under an agreement with Hungary, will build an oil pipeline with a length of 128 kilometers to connect with Hungarian oil pipelines, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said.

Earlier, he said that the Serbian authorities would invest 12 billion euros in energy infrastructure over the next six years. The day before, the Serbian Ministry of Energy announced that it was considering two options for laying an oil pipeline to connect with Druzhba in Hungary.

“The Republic of Serbia, in accordance with an agreement with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, will begin construction of an oil pipeline to the village of Algyo with a length of 128 kilometers, Novi Sad – Hungary in order to connect to the Hungarian oil pipelines and, having a connection with Croatia, we will be able to choose a lower transit tax and a more profitable option for Serbia,” the Serbian leader said.

According to him, this project would cost up to 100 million euros, and the construction of an oil pipeline through North Macedonia to the port of Durres in Albania is also being considered.

“Our oil reserves currently amount to 506,000 tons of diesel and 119,000 tons of gasoline, of which 287,000 tons of finished diesel are currently available, and 220,000 tons of oil is being processed for diesel, which is enough for us for 75 days, if someone then interrupted oil supplies to us, and for 59 days – gasoline reserves,” Vučić said.

The EU on Thursday introduced the eighth package of anti-Russian sanctions, which includes both new economic restrictions and expanded lists of personal sanctions. Among the economic sanctions is the introduction of a legislative framework for determining the price ceiling for sea transportation of Russian oil to third countries. It is planned that the price limit will be introduced on December 5 for oil and on February 5, 2023 for petroleum products.

The package of measures was actively supported by Croatia, where the port of Omišalj is located on the island of Krk in the Adriatic Sea with a terminal for receiving tankers with oil and oil products. From there, the oil is sent via a pipeline to Serbia for processing at the plant of the Oil Industry of Serbia (NIS), which is 56.15% owned by the companies of the Gazprom group. Serbian Interior Minister Alexander Vulin said on Thursday that the EU, with the eighth package of sanctions against Russia, is introducing the first package of sanctions against Serbia, which depends on Russian oil supplies through Croatia.