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Serbia Gas From Russia Down By Quarter

Posted on: Friday, 20 January 2006, 09:00 CST

Serbia gas from Russia down by quarter

BELGRADE, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- Gas supplies to Serbia from Russia have dipped by 25 percent this week due to the severe cold snap which is playing havoc with Europe's main exporter of the fuel, the Serbian Gas Company said on Thursday.

Owing to fewer gas deliveries, only health institutions, schools and the food industry will be adequately supplied at present, the gas company's spokesman Aleksandar Kostadinovic told the official news agency Tanjug.

He said all other factories and heating plants would have to start using alternative fuel, adding that most of Serbia's factories always buy alternative energy sources for emergencies.

Russia has been forced to reduce its natural gas exports by around 20 percent to cope with the domestic demand in the face of the coldsnap which has gripped the west of the country for the past four days.

Earlier in January, Serbia's gas imports were halved to only 5 million cubic meters a day due to the price dispute between Russia and Ukraine. But the supply returned to normal a day later.

Kostadinovic said his company regularly pays its bills to Russia's Gazprom and Hungary's Mol, adding that the crisis is in no way connected to a possible debt, but is the result of the growth in demand in Russia.

On Wednesday, Russia's natural gas monopoly Gazprom reduced supplies to European customers because of the cold snap at home, as Italy, Croatia and Hungary announced a shortfall in Russian gas.

Source: Xinhua News Agency - CEIS

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