Alarm at Gazprom’s Serbia move

Gazprom’s offer to take control of Serbia’s state-owned petroleum monopoly has divided the Serbian government and sounded alarm bells about the cost of Moscow’s political support.

The Russian state-run gas group aims to pay


The terms of the offer, which the government has confirmed is under negotiation, would be sweetened by Gazprom’s promise of a branch of the South Stream gas pipeline running through Serbia, ensuring lucrative transport fees and lower gas prices for the country for decades to come. But the branch’s limited capacity of 10bn cubic metres would just cover local needs, while larger-scale gas shipments to Hungary and western Europe – which earn substantial revenues – would not go via Serbia, critics said.

The Russians have also promised to boost Serbian “energy stability” by activating a gas storage site. In return, Gazprom, its subsidiary Gazpromneft, and NIS would retain a monopoly on refining and a protective ban on private-sector oil and gas imports for five years.

Financial Times