Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that he will request imports of three billion cubic meters of gas per year and the signing of a ten-year gas supply contract during his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the end of the month.
President Vucic said that the current agreement on natural gas imports from Russia expires at the end of the year, but that he would request increased flows urgently, because the reserves at the Banatski Dvor gas storage facility are spent on a daily basis.
He said that Serbia and Ukraine have the cheapest electricity for households in Europe, and the price of gas is also among the cheapest ones. Serbia pays 270 dollars per 1,000 cubic meters of gas, compared to current prices on the market ranging from 960 to 1,100 dollars per 1,000 cubic meters. He stressed that low prices of electricity and gas are good for attracting investors.
He reiterated the necessity to expand the Banatski Dvor underground gas storage, but in the meantime, he would discuss with the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban the possibility of Serbia paying for the storage of gas its gas in Hungary, because it has an enormous gas storage capacity of seven billion cubic meters.