US firm's gas pipeline may further weaken Gazprom's presence in Europe – Ukraine's foreign intelligence

AAFS Infrastructure and Energy, a US company, has formally unveiled plans for a gas pipeline in Bosnia and Herzegovina that would deprive the Russian energy giant Gazprom of its regional monopoly.

Source: Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine

Details: The government of Bosnia and Herzegovina formally received a letter of intent from the AAFS Infrastructure and Energy company on building the Southern Interconnection gas pipeline.

The pipeline would link the country to a liquefied natural gas terminal on the Croatian island of Krk. This would provide an alternative to TurkStream, which is currently the only route for gas supplies to Bosnia and Herzegovina, and whose gas is Russian.

Quote: "Bosnia and Herzegovina's diversification of risks through a potential US pipeline simultaneously deprives Russia's Gazprom of its monopoly in the region and another share of a stable European market."

More details: Construction is planned to start in 2026. The project cost is US$200 million.

The US company has also proposed building a gas-fired power plant, expanding the Kladanj-Tuzla pipeline and modernising airports in the cities of Sarajevo and Mostar.

Before Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, in 2021, Russia supplied EU countries with about 157 billion cubic metres of gas, accounting for up to 45% of Europe's gas imports.

By the end of 2025, based on European Commission calculations, the share of Russian gas had fallen to about 13%, or up to 18 billion cubic metres.

From 2021 to 2024, transit of Russian gas to Europe via Ukraine fell from 40 billion to 17 billion cubic metres and stopped completely from 1 January 2025.

Supplies to Germany through Nord Stream, which reached 59.2 billion cubic metres in 2021, were stopped in 2022.

Europe's imports through the Yamal-Europe pipeline, which totalled 31 billion cubic metres in 2021, were stopped in 2022.

On 3 February 2026, a decision took effect for the EU to end imports of Russian gas from 2027.

Background:

• Reuters reported earlier that Serbia's Russian-owned NIS oil refinery, which is sanctioned by the United States, will resume operations on 17 or 18 January 2026 after receiving a temporary licence.
• Gazprom's supplies to Europe fell by 44% in 2025 to 18 billion cubic metres.
• Türkiye's largest oil refineries have begun purchasing more non-Russian crude oil in response to new Western sanctions on Russia.

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