Srbijagas is the state-owned natural gas

Natural gas

Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...

 provider in Serbia

Serbia

Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...

. The current General Director of the company is Dušan Bajatović.

History

Srbijagas was established on 1 October 2005 as a result of restructuring the integrated petroleum company NIS

Naftna Industrija Srbije

Naftna Industrija Srbije is an oil company in Serbia. The company's main business is the oil and gas exploration, production, importing, processing, transportation, and marketing of oil and oil products in Serbia. It holds monopoly on all oil imports until 2011 except the high quality diesel fuel...

. The company was created on the basis of NIS divisions NIS-Gas, NIS-Energogas and parts of NIS-Jugopetrol.

Gazprom's takeover of Serbia's energy market

The Eurasian Daily Monitor reported in November 2008 how Gazprom

Gazprom

Open Joint Stock Company Gazprom is the largest extractor of natural gas in the world and the largest Russian company. Its headquarters are in Cheryomushki District, South-Western Administrative Okrug, Moscow...

's YugoRosGaz

YugoRosGaz

YugoRosGaz a.d. is a Gazprom subsidiary in Serbia. Yugorosgaz is owned by Gazprom , Srbijagas , and Central ME Energy & Gas AG , a member of the Centrex Group...

 has influenced Serbian gas officials who were apparently "signing contracts with themselves" in order to help secure a Gazprom takeover of Serbia's energy sector:

Russian Gazprom’s opaque European network of subsidiaries and silent partners, which have been mired in numerous scandals over the past decade, is once again involved in what appears to be a major scam. ... It seems that Sasa Ilic, the chairman of the Serbian owned state gas company Srbijagas, signed an agreement in Moscow in mid-October with Gazprom

Gazprom

Open Joint Stock Company Gazprom is the largest extractor of natural gas in the world and the largest Russian company. Its headquarters are in Cheryomushki District, South-Western Administrative Okrug, Moscow...

’s CEO Alexei Miller

Alexei Miller

Alexey Borisovich Miller is Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Management Committee of Russian energy company Gazprom, Russia's largest company and the world's biggest natural gas producer....

 for Russian gas deliveries to Serbia of 2.39 billion cubic meters of gas. Ilic, however, did not have the authority to sign such a contract, which was, moreover, not signed directly with Gazprom but with a little-known intermediary company, YugoRosGaz

YugoRosGaz

YugoRosGaz a.d. is a Gazprom subsidiary in Serbia. Yugorosgaz is owned by Gazprom , Srbijagas , and Central ME Energy & Gas AG , a member of the Centrex Group...

. Ilic is a principle stockholder in YugoRosGas. Thus, Ilic, in effect, signed a contract with himself. As it turned out, YugoRosGas received a $44.6 million (€35 million) payment from Gazprom for its services. Ilic presumably received a good share of this commission.