On November 23, the CEO of Hellenic Energy, Andreas Siamisis, announced the re-opening of the Thessaloniki-Skopje oil pipeline, after the appropriate permission granted by the competent regulatory authority of North Macedonia. About four months later, the gas pipeline takes on another dimension, Serbia studies its connection with the mentioned oil pipeline, increasing the strategic importance of the movement, writes the Greek portal EnergyMag.

According to Serbian Mining and Energy Minister Dubravka Gjedović Handanović, Serbia is working on diversifying its oil supplies, as the only route currently is the Adria or JANAF pipeline.

By 2027, Serbia and Hungary will build a joint 128-kilometer oil pipeline, which will further increase the security of supply to Serbia's refineries and market, he said, adding that the country is also considering connecting to oil sources in Greece through the pipeline in North Macedonia.

Siamisis himself in November, announcing the development, emphasized that the work of the mentioned oil pipeline "will offer great benefits to both sides, and will also significantly contribute to the energy security of the Balkans." It is not only for North Macedonia. He even added that "at the same time, the neighboring country will be given the opportunity to emerge as an important regional energy center (interconnected energy center) for nearby destinations, which will enhance its position and role in the wider region."

The pipeline maintenance works carried out by the Greek company extend the useful life of the project until June 2051.

The pipeline will transport crude oil and oil derivatives. Specifically, it can transport 2,5 million tons of crude oil and oil derivatives (diesel, kerosene and gasoline) per year. In the upcoming operational phase, it will carry a diesel engine.

And natural gas

The Minister of Energy of Serbia, after the consultations she had on Monday, with the Greek delegation in the presence of the Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis in Belgrade, also announced significant developments in natural gas interconnections, again with a focus on Greece.

He said that the completion of the natural gas interconnection with Bulgaria late last year provided Serbia with a connection to natural gas sources in the Caspian region, but also to the liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal at the port of Alexandroupolis, making Greece important partner in natural gas supply.

Serbia has already agreed to supply 300 million cubic meters of natural gas per year from the LNG terminal in Alexandroupolis once the plant is fully operational, which is expected in the coming weeks, Handanovic told the Serbia-Greece Business Forum in Belgrade.

Serbia has also agreed to supply up to 400 million cubic meters of natural gas per year from Azerbaijan until 2026, an amount that could be tripled after the contract expires, Gedovic Handanovic recalled, according to a press release from the Ministry of Mines and energy.

As for other natural gas interconnections in the region, two more new gas pipelines are planned, with North Macedonia and Romania, to be completed before the opening of EXPO 2027 in Belgrade.

Unblocking of the oil pipeline Thessaloniki - Skopje after 20 years

The director of Hellenic Energy, Andreas Siamisis, in an interview with Kathimerini on the occasion of the unblocking of the Thessaloniki-Skopje oil pipeline in November last year by the decision of RKE clarified that the oil pipeline was built in 2002 with Vardax as the owner, in which the government of North Macedonia also has a stake of 20% - to connect the Thessaloniki refineries with the then refinery of the OKTA company in Skopje.

-In 2013, as happened with several other relatively "simple" refineries in the area, which were built with different criteria during the Cold War, it was deemed unprofitable to continue operating OKTA as a refinery. Instead, after careful study, it was decided to use the facilities as a regional supply hub in the Western Balkans, with the pipeline repurposed to carry the most modern and clean products instead of crude. The decision was easy, because from an economic point of view, security of supply to the local market, but also from an environmental point of view, the benefit was clear. Although OKTA's facilities were modified for the new operation and significant investments were made to modernize them, the pipeline remained inactive, as the issuance of the relevant change in its licensing was delayed, Siamisis said.

He added that efforts intensified from 2020 onwards, when a joint committee was formed to find areas of convergence between the parties involved, in a more favorable environment.

- Last November, after fulfilling all the set conditions, our subsidiary Vardax, which is the owner of the oil pipeline, again submitted a request to the competent Regulatory Commission of North Macedonia, to obtain a permit to operate the oil pipeline for the transport of refined products instead of crude. After that, the road opened that led to the positive conclusion. The reopening of the pipeline will offer great benefits to both sides, and will also significantly contribute to energy security and stability in the wider Balkan region, noted the CEO of Hellenic Energy in that interview.

Otherwise, in 2022, the Arbitration Court in Paris made a decision in favor of Hellenic Energy, which sued Macedonia in court due to non-fulfillment of the OKTA agreement signed during the government of Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski and VMRO-DPMNE. Hellenic Energy, ie former Hellenic Petroleum, received 80 percent of the requested 32 million euros, with which Macedonia will have to pay the Greek energy company 25,6 million euros. The Greek company plans to invest these funds in the gas pipeline Thessaloniki - Skopje.

Vice Prime Minister Fatmir Bitici announced this summer that the completed arbitration procedure for the sale of the Skopje refinery to "Hellenic Petroleum" as a complete case will be sent to the prosecutor's office to determine what the prosecutors could have done so far with the crime of that deal.