The United States wants to change the way the Western Balkans are supplied with energy, by making a network of agreements for the import of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
The goal is to reduce the region's dependence on Russia and strengthen the energy corridor from the south to Central Europe.
To this end, projects have been planned in several countries in the region – from Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Albania and Montenegro, to Kosovo and Serbia.
These projects include new pipelines, liquefied gas terminals, and gas-fired power plants, and are politically and financially supported by the US and the European Union.
Some of these projects are already under construction or in the contracting process, while others are still in the planning phase.
Overall, the regional energy system is gradually shifting towards natural gas from the US, Azerbaijan, and the Mediterranean.
Jonathan Stern, professor at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, estimates that Southeast Europe has already developed alternative supply routes.
"There are LNG terminals in Greece and Croatia, and the Southern Gas Corridor from Azerbaijan, along with the Romanian Neptun Deep gas field in the Black Sea, whose exploitation is expected to begin next year and whose reserves are estimated at 100 billion cubic meters," Stern tells Radio Free Europe.
Bosnia and Herzegovina has been in the spotlight in recent months due to the Southern Gas Interconnection project with Croatia, which would provide the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina entity with access to the Krk LNG terminal and alternative gas suppliers.
At the same time, authorities of Bosnia's other entity, Republika Srpska, continue to develop separate gas connections with Serbia, including the Eastern Interconnection project from Bijeljina to Banja Luka.
For almost five decades, Bosnia and Herzegovina has been completely dependent on Russian gas, which flows to it via the TurkStream.
It is mainly used for heating in Sarajevo and, compared to Serbia, Bosnia is a negligible consumer.
The agreement between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia for the connection of the gas pipeline from Dalmatia to central Bosnia, with branches in Herzegovina and the northwest of the country, was signed with the participation of US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright in April in Dubrovnik.
It was preceded by several months of official support from Washington for the project, which was described as "strategic for the region's energy security."
The Croatian part of the project is run by the state-owned company Plinacro, while in Bosnia and Herzegovina by the private American company AAFS Infrastructure and Energy, whose directors are part of the inner circle of US President Donald Trump.
The project drew criticism from the European Commission and the Energy Community, of which Bosnia and Herzegovina is a member, due to a special law (lex specialis) in the Federation of Bosnia involving a private American company, as well as issues of compliance with EU rules.
"The project must be implemented within a framework that is fully consistent with the Energy Community legal acquis and the principles of EU energy policy," Hanna Claeson, a spokeswoman for the European Energy Community, whose members include EU countries, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other countries in the region, told Radio Free Europe.
Bosnia and Herzegovina consumes up to 250 million cubic meters of gas per year, while the new pipeline is expected to transport around 1.5 billion cubic meters.
For this reason, the construction of gas-fired power plants is also being considered, which could supply electricity to around 400.000 families.
Currently, 80 percent of electricity is produced in coal-fired power plants, some of which were built more than 50 years ago.
The planned pipeline will connect to the existing one coming from Serbia.
Stern, from the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, believes the pipeline “is important for Bosnia and Herzegovina, but not for the wider region.”
He also expresses doubts about the feasibility of the investment of around 1 billion euros - the estimated cost of building this new gas pipeline.
"Croatia has no available LNG capacity for gas transit through Bosnia and Herzegovina. And where would it go? Serbia can now get it through Bulgaria," says Stern.
Serbia is expanding its gas infrastructure in an effort to maintain its role as a regional energy hub, while also opening space for American LNG and new Western investments in the energy sector.
Serbian Energy Minister Dubravka Gjedovic Handanovic signed a joint statement with the US and several Eastern and Central European countries at a summit in Washington in February this year.
The head of the Srbijagas company, Dusan Bajatovic, later stated that Serbia “will have to buy American gas,” although the quantities and formal contracts have not yet been determined.
The 2024 Strategic Energy Agreement with the US provides for diversification of sources, but there is still no formal contract for the purchase of American LNG.
American gas could arrive via the Croatian terminal in Krk or the Greek Alexandroupolis, thanks to new interconnections with Bulgaria and North Macedonia.
Serbia operates a network of around 2.500 kilometers of gas pipelines and is planning new pipelines, including to North Macedonia, and is expanding the Banatski Dvor storage facility.
Currently, Serbia receives more than 80 percent of its gas from Russia through the TurkStream.
Despite announcements of diversification, the main gas facilities in Serbia, including the Pancevo CHP plant, continue to be linked to Russia's Gazprom and the Serbian Oil Industry.
Montenegro – although without a gas network – is becoming part of the American LNG framework, through plans for a terminal at the port of Tivat and future gas-fired power plants.
Montenegro also participated in the US Transatlantic Gas Security Summit in Washington in February this year, where it signed a joint declaration, in which several Central and Southern European countries announced that they would cooperate with the US in energy.
Although the American companies Enerflex and Wethington Energy Innovation signed a memorandum with the Government of Montenegro in 2023 for the preparation of the project, there is still no agreement on the supply of LNG, the quantities have not been determined, and no concrete contracts have been signed.
Montenegro, meanwhile, has supported the Ionian-Adriatic Pipeline (IAP) project, which would connect the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) in Albania to Croatia, but it still remains in the initial planning phase.
Alternatively, several gas-fired power plants with capacities ranging from 50 to 400 megawatts are being considered in Tivar, Podgorica and Plevna, including hybrid models and conversions of existing power plants.
According to studies conducted on the Electroeconomy of Montenegro by the Japanese company JERA and the Swiss consultancy SS&A Power Consultancy, all options considered are technically feasible and economically viable.
Depending on the capacity of the power plant and the source of gas supply, investments are estimated to range from 233 to 362 million euros.
Kosovo has no gas infrastructure and relies entirely on coal-fired power plants.
The project for a gas interconnector with North Macedonia was previously included in the EU's investment plan for the Western Balkans, but was halted due to, as stated by the Government, high costs and a strategic focus on renewable energy sources.
The pipeline would give Kosovo access to gas from Greek LNG terminals in the Aegean Sea, and the idea was to also build a pipeline to Albania.
"If and when market conditions change and the business environment becomes more attractive, the [U.S.] Department of Energy will stand ready to help connect U.S. companies with partners in Kosovo," Joshua Volz, a special envoy for the U.S. Department of Energy, told Radio Free Europe.
Kosovo has refused to invest around US$200 million in gas infrastructure through the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) program and has diverted the funds to battery energy storage systems.
Skopje is currently building new gas infrastructure with the support of Washington and Brussels, with the aim of breaking away from its long-standing dependence on Russian gas and positioning itself as a new regional energy hub.
North Macedonia is a NATO member and an EU candidate, so diversifying its energy supply has also become a geopolitical issue.
The TE-TO Skopje cogeneration plant, which supplies the capital with heat and produces electricity, depends on Russian gas and is under the control of the Russian group Sintez.
Skopje has signed a memorandum with American suppliers for the purchase of LNG, but details have not been made public.
The Gevgelija-Negotiation gas pipeline is under construction and will connect this country to LNG terminals in Greece, with an initial capacity of 1.5 billion cubic meters per year.
EU institutions are financing the project with a combination of loans and grants, while, in parallel, a connection with Serbia is also being planned – with works expected to begin in 2027.
"North Macedonia plans to build 67 new energy facilities, with a total installed capacity of 4.416 megawatts, including a cogeneration plant near Negotin," the North Macedonian Ministry of Energy, Mines and Mineral Resources told Radio Free Europe.
In April of this year, Albania signed a strategic agreement, worth $6 billion, with the American company Venture Global and the Greek company Aktor LNG USA, which will purchase LNG from the United States for long-term supply - starting in 2030.
The plan includes the development of an energy hub in Vlora, with an LNG terminal and a gas-fired power plant with a capacity of around 380 megawatts, with connections to the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which transports gas from Azerbaijan to Italy from 2020.
The project is supported by the US administration, which sees Albania as a potential entry point for the distribution of American gas to Kosovo, North Macedonia and other parts of the Western Balkans.
Albania does not have a functioning internal gas network and the existing infrastructure from the socialist period is largely unusable.
For Albania, which produces almost all of its electricity from hydroelectric power plants, the construction of a gas-fired power plant would serve as a safety reserve during periods of drought and increased consumption.
“The solution for gasification of Albania is the construction of the Ionian-Adriatic Pipeline (IAP) and the connection to the LNG terminal in Croatia, the connection to the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), through which gas comes from the Caspian region, and the construction of an LNG terminal and gas storage in Dumrei,” says Stavri Dhima, from the European University in Tirana, who has worked for 20 years at the Institute for Oil and Gas Research in Fier.
The LNG terminal at the port of Vlora could be a gas hub for supplying Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Kosovo, and through the IAP and TAP gas could also go to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Italy.
"Infrastructure alone does not guarantee energy security," Sophie Corbeau, of the Center for Global Energy Policy in Paris, tells Radio Free Europe, referring to plans to build new LNG terminals, gas pipelines and gas-fired power plants.
Countries that want to reduce their dependence on Russian gas must first secure reliable long-term contracts with several suppliers, Corbeau concludes.
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