Djedovic Handanovic: Indonesian coal now arrives by rail

Serbia’s coal stockpiles currently hold 1.93 million tons, against a target of two million, caretaker Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic said in an interview with the October 18 edition of Politika. Because the Danube is running low, coal from Indonesia is arriving by rail for now, which limits the volumes that can be moved.

In the same interview the minister also discussed gas reserves, crude oil transport for the Oil Industry of Serbia (NIS), mining equipment at Kolubara and Djerdap 3.

How much gas and coal does Serbia have as the heating season starts?

According to the minister, the energy system enters the heating season with more than 700 million cubic meters of gas in storage in Serbia and Hungary. She put it this way: “Serbia’s energy system is entering the heating season ready, with record volumes of gas in storage.”

Energy reserves, she said, have doubled over the past four years. She recalled that late last year crude oil deliveries stopped for more than 100 days, which shut down the Pancevo refinery, but that citizens, as she put it, lacked nothing. The coal output shortfall from the start of the year, she added, has been made up and production is now at the planned level.

On district heating plants, she said overhauls are finished and that debts are causing problems, and that the state will help at the local level where needed. Current obligations of the heating plants, she said, will be settled by the end of October or early November, while debts older than ten years weigh on their liquidity.

Why is Indonesian coal coming by rail, and what about Kolubara?

Imports of high-calorific coal will continue. Domestic coal from Kolubara is of lower quality and has to be blended with imported coal to get the most out of the power plants in Obrenovac. The thermal power capacity is about 50 years old, not counting the new unit at Kostolac, and maintaining it is, as she put it, increasingly demanding and costly.

At home, the largest installation of mining equipment in the history of the Kolubara Mining Basin, worth 450 million euros, is nearing completion. The largest excavator began hauling coal toward the Radljevo pit late last week, and continuous production is also starting at that newest Kolubara pit, thanks to the new equipment.

What does the minister say about NIS, Janaf and the oil price?

The state’s goal is for NIS to remain the main supplier of oil products on the market, and talks with Hungary’s MOL are continuing. Asked about a plan B, she named no specific plan and said the outcome depends on Russia and the United States. On the sanctions imposed by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the minister said:

“In the two years since the sanctions by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control were announced, the state has managed to ensure uninterrupted operations and preserve jobs at NIS.”

In the same conversation she also said: “I will remind you that Vucic was backed by both Putin and Trump, and that is the most important thing for Serbia’s energy security.”

Crude oil transport is decisive for supplying the Pancevo refinery. Janaf holds a license to transport oil to NIS until October 30, 2026, which is twelve more days, while the transport contract is valid until the end of the year. That contract reserves capacity for 10 million tons of crude oil for the period from 2024 to 2026. The minister expects talks on delivery terms for the next period to begin before the current contract expires.

The oil price, by her account, has been above 100 dollars a barrel for days, about 40 percent more than at the end of February, when it was around 60 dollars. She described the exchange price of gas at the end of last week as above 900, saying it was below 400 before the war in the Middle East. The unit differs between reports: Borba writes dollars per cubic meter, while other sources cite about 900 euros per 1,000 cubic meters, so we do not treat it as verified here.

Where does Djerdap 3 stand, and who is left in the process?

Six companies applied to the public call for the Djerdap 3 reversible hydropower plant. Only the consortium of the American Bechtel and the Turkish Enka met the qualification requirements. The minister described the project this way: “Djerdap 3 has the potential to be Europe’s largest natural battery.”

For now, negotiations cover only the design and technical documentation, and a price has not been agreed. To the experts’ claim that the project is financially overvalued, she replied that this cannot be discussed, since there are only preliminary analyses with rough investment estimates. We have already reported on the documentation work, when the “Jaroslav Cerni” Institute began work on the study and the spatial plan.