Serbia plans to build a new natural gas storage facility at the location of the former Tilva storage site in the northern province of Vojvodina with an estimated investment of up to 500 million euro ($586 million), Dusan Bajatovic, director general of state-owned gas importer and distributor Srbijagas, said on Thursday.
Srbijagas estimates the cost of the storage facility at between 350 million and 500 million euro, as it must also serve a commercial purpose, Bajatovic said in a televised interview with public broadcaster RTS. Along with the expansion of the Banatski Dvor facility, the Tilva storage site would ensure Serbia's energy security when it comes to gas, he noted.
In April, Serbia launched a 145 million euro project to expand the capacity of its sole gas storage facility, controlled by Russia's Gazprom, in the northeastern town of Banatski Dvor by 300 million cubic metres (mcm) to 750 mcm. Apart from Banatski Dvor, Serbia currently also stores gas in leased facilities in Hungary.
Plans for the construction of new gas storage facilities in Serbia, including Tilva, have been announced on multiple occasions in the past. Serbia's energy sector development strategy up to 2040 with projections up to 2050, which was adopted by the parliament in November, says that the minimum required size of the gas storage capacity to ensure security of supply stands in the range of 1-1.5 billion cubic metres. The strategy also says it is necessary to consider further expansion of the Banatski Dvor facility as well as the construction of new storage sites in Vojvodina, including Tilva, and in central Serbia.
The planned capacity of the Tilva storage site stands at 300 mcm, according to Srbijagas.
Serbia is expected to consume about 2.7 bcm of gas this year, importing more than 90% of the total, with the bulk of it coming from Russia.
(SeeNews, June 26, 2025)
