Bulgaria-Serbia natural gas interconnector reaches completion
The 1.8-billion cu m/year (bcmy) Interconnector Bulgaria-Serbia (IBS) natural gas pipeline has been completed. The pipeline will reduce the proportion of Russian gas Serbia consumes, replacing it with supplies from Azerbaijan and Gastrade AE’s 5.5-bcmy LNG terminal in Alexandroupolis, Greece.
Serbia will purchase 0.4 bcmy from Azerbaijan starting in 2024. Azerbaijan exported 8 bcmy to Europe in 2021 and is targeting sales of 20 bcmy there by 2027. The country expects 2023 European exports to be near 12 bcmy.
Construction of the 170-km reversible pipeline began earlier this year, at which point Serbia received roughly 80% of its gas from Russia (OGJ Online, Feb. 6, 2023). At full capacity IBS could meet about 60% of Serbia’s demand.
About the Author
Christopher E. Smith
Editor in Chief
Chris joined Oil & Gas Journal in 2005 as Pipeline Editor, having already worked for more than a decade in a variety of oil and gas industry analysis and reporting roles. He became editor-in-chief in 2019 and head of content in 2025.