Transnafta submits application for environmental permit for Serbia-Hungary oil pipeline

Transnafta from Pancevo has submitted a request to the Ministry of Environmental Protection for approval of the Environmental Impact Assessment Study for the project to construct an oil pipeline from the Hungarian border to Novi Sad, prepared by Euro Green from Novi Sad.

The project covers the territory of the City of Novi Sad and the municipalities of Kanjiza, Senta, Ada, Becej and Zabalj.

The planned starting point for transportation through the Hungary-Novi Sad oil pipeline is near the Horgos border crossing, northeast of the settlement of the same name, while the final interconnection point of the pipeline is the Transnafta Terminal in Novi Sad.

- The Republic of Serbia is supplied with imported crude oil from only one direction, via the Republic of Croatia and its JANAF transportation system to the Serbian border, and then through the Transnafta transportation system from the Croatian border to the Transnafta Terminal in Novi Sad, from where it is transported onward to the refinery in Pancevo. The reason for implementing this project is to create the conditions for achieving national interests in the development of energy infrastructure and diversification of Serbia's crude oil supply routes from the direction of Hungary, as the Druzhba oil pipeline passes through its territory and supplies a large part of Europe with crude oil. Construction of the pipeline will ensure a more secure supply for domestic refineries and, consequently, the domestic market - the document states, recalling that on December 7, 2023, the Serbian Government designated the Hungary-Serbia oil pipeline construction project as a project of importance to the Republic of Serbia.

What does the Hungary-Serbia oil pipeline include?

- a linear oil pipeline approximately 113 km long, with a nominal diameter of DN450 and a maximum operating pressure of MOP=70 bar, in accordance with the project requirements.
- block valve stations (BS)
- a receiving and dispatching pigging station (POCS Horgos) at the beginning of the pipeline route, immediately before the interconnection with the pipeline at the Hungarian border
- a receiving pigging station (PCS Novi Sad) at the end of the pipeline route, within the Transnafta Terminal, which would enable complete cleaning and diagnostics inside the pipeline along the entire route through Serbia.
- a metering station (MS) within the Transnafta Terminal, which will measure the flow of oil delivered from Hungary

Other facilities and systems serving the pipeline include access roads planned at the locations of pipeline facilities, electrical power facilities supplying above-ground pipeline installations with electricity, and a fiber-optic cable for remote monitoring and control, laid parallel to the pipeline within the working corridor and intended for data transmission along the entire route and for connecting all facilities and associated nodes with the operational branches that will manage the pipeline.

As specified, the pipeline route will run primarily through agricultural, water and forest land, and to a lesser extent beneath public areas at crossings with watercourses, national and local roads and railway lines.

It should be recalled that, regarding this project, part of the tender for expert supervision of the pipeline's construction was recently annulled based on a decision issued by the Commission for the Protection of Rights. The public procurement procedure itself consists of two lots - one relating to the construction of the pipeline and the other specifically concerning the selection of expert supervision for its construction. The selection of the contractor has been completed. The contract for the construction of the oil pipeline between Serbia and Hungary, following the suspension and subsequent extension of the tender procedure launched by Transnafta from Novi Sad, was awarded this spring to a consortium led by MVM Juzna Backa. In addition to Juzna Backa, the consortium of companies awarded the contract includes Konvar, Delta Inzenjering, Zavod za zavarivanje, Celik from Backi Jarak and Delta Preving. Juzna Backa will have the largest share of the project, at 43%.

The tender itself was announced in December 2025, and the estimated value of both lots is RSD 15.4 billion excluding VAT.

D. A.

Transnafta ad Pančevo

EURO GREEN DOO NOVI SAD

MVM Južna Bačka doo Novi Sad

Delta inženjering d.o.o. Beograd

Čelik d.o.o. Bački Jarak

Delta preving d.o.o. Beograd

Ministarstvo zaštite životne sredine Republike Srbije

Zavod za zavarivanje a.d. Beograd

Konvar d.o.o. Beograd

Serbia-Hungary oil pipeline

construction of the Serbia-Hungary oil pipeline