Vucic: Gas Reserve at 670 Million Cubic Meters, Price 880
President Vucic said Serbia holds 670 million cubic meters of gas in reserve, stored in Banatski Dvor and in Hungary, but warned that will not be enough if prices keep rising.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on September 3 that the country holds 670 million cubic meters of gas in reserve, stored in Banatski Dvor and in Hungary, but that the amount will not be enough if the world market price keeps climbing. He made the statement while touring the North Banat District, in Coka and in Rusko Selo near Kikinda.
The world market price of gas today stands at 880 dollars per 1,000 cubic meters, Vucic said in Rusko Selo. According to him, a price at that level has never before held stable for any length of time.
“It is not normal, the price you pay or we pay in Serbia, when the market price is 880, 880 dollars per 1,000 cubic meters of gas. That has never happened before. It happened once, during Covid, even 2,000 dollars, but that lasted a day or two. It has never stood stable between 730 and 900 dollars per 1,000 cubic meters. Never,” Vucic said.
The only earlier spike to a similar level, according to the president, came during the coronavirus pandemic, and even then only for a day or two, whereas the current price has held for far longer without dropping.
Why is the price of gas rising?
Vucic named lower exports from Qatar and attacks on Russian oil facilities as the reasons. Qatar, one of the world’s largest exporters of liquefied gas, is not delivering sufficient volumes, according to the president, while Russia is struggling with supply because of attacks on its own oil facilities, which he said has spilled over into the gas market as well.
“Hardly anyone is ready for winter, hardly anyone in Europe or in the world, because Qatar is not delivering enough quantities. The Russians are attacking oil facilities, so there are problems, of course, with gas and with everything. So I am very worried,” Vucic said.
The president also recalled his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the price of gas for Serbia.
“When I went to see Putin to talk about gas, I asked that we pay much less than 400 dollars per 1,000 cubic meters of gas. Today the world market price is 880,” Vucic said.
The figure of 400 dollars per 1,000 cubic meters refers strictly to gas, and sources agree on that number. In the same remarks to reporters the president also mentioned a price of 440 euros, but that referred to a separate part of the conversation, about oil, not gas, so the two figures are not comparable.
How much gas does Serbia have in reserve?
“We have done no small amount so far: we have around 670 million cubic meters of gas in reserve, in Banatski Dvor and in Hungary, but all of that is not enough if prices keep going wild like this,” Vucic said.
Srpske Novine has previously reported that the price of gas in Europe stood at around 70 euros and that Serbian storage facilities were full ahead of winter. The world market price has since risen sharply, to the current 880 dollars per 1,000 cubic meters, which shows how quickly the balance of power on the energy market can shift within a single season.
During the same tour, Vucic also announced growth in agricultural output of between 5 percent and 7 percent compared to last year, alongside a weaker soybean harvest due to drought.
“We will have significant growth in agriculture, whether it will be five, six or seven percent I cannot say now, I will know in a month or two,” Vucic said in Coka.
He said corn had suffered from drought during the grain filling stage, though less than last year, while wheat and fruit, in his words, had a good yield across Serbia.
During the same tour the president also said that nothing will be built in the Deliblatska Pescara for as long as he is part of the government, following recent changes to the Law on Planning and Construction that allow forest land destroyed by fire to have its designated use changed. Wildfires had previously burned around 3,000 hectares of forest in the Deliblatska Pescara, and the legal changes were widely read as a signal that construction was coming to the area.
“As long as I have any say, no one is going to build anything there except the ecosystem. Trees, flowers, grass and whatever burned. No one will get a permit to build anything,” Vucic said.
The president also announced that the government will inform the public within three to four days about the size of the increase to wages and pensions, while reminding that in ten days the disbursement of one time aid begins for pensioners, veterans and recipients of social benefits.
