Why Azerbaijan Has Halted Gas Supplies to Serbia

Azerbaijan has informed Serbia that it is forced to suspend gas supplies of 1.7 million cubic meters per day due to issues at the Shah Deniz field. This was announced by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić.

“As they say, bad news rarely comes alone; it is followed by a second, then a third. We have received a notification from our Azerbaijani brothers and friends that due to insurmountable difficulties at the Shah Deniz field, gas supplies of 1.7 million cubic meters per day have been suspended as of today. The message states that there is no confidence and clarity on how long it will take to restore supplies. I will translate this into Serbian for our people: this means that from today we will start using our reserves more actively,” Vučić stated at a press conference.

The President emphasized that Serbia has enough energy resources to get through the current winter but expressed hope that Azerbaijani supplies will be restored soon.

“We have enough gas to ensure the country’s needs. If, of course, no third misfortune occurs. I hope that Azerbaijanis will be able to solve the issue within a month or two. If this prolongs, we will have to increase our current consumption by an additional 2-3 million cubic meters of gas per day over the next four months. Consumption is always higher in winter, but there will be no shortage of gas and oil,” Vučić assured.

After negotiations with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov at the end of December 2024, Vučić discussed the importance of a joint project to build a gas power plant near the city of Niš, which will provide an additional source of electricity. Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Đurić also stated that the country’s energy security has been significantly strengthened through cooperation with Baku, especially in the currently unstable conditions.