Energotehna is a domestic Serbian company that provides services and engineering solutions for the construction and mechanical industries. According to the company’s CEO, their success is due to flexibility, learning, professionalism, dedication, and relations towards employees, partners and clients
We have signed a contract for the reconstruction of the complete oil and gas terminal in the city of Niš, which is the largest reconstruction project of storage facilities owned by NIS – announces Energotehna’s Emil Sovilj proudly.
When you established Energotehna, your primary focus was on the construction of gas pipelines, with the work subsequently diversifying over time. How is the company organised today?
– The base of Energotehna has always been the construction of energy facilities. We are today much more recognised as a company that’s able to offer a complete solution to problems when it comes to the implementation of those kinds of projects.
With the obtaining of a license for the construction in the oil and gas industry storage facilities, which is issued by the Ministry of Construction, we expanded our activities to include civil works. We are still active in the energy sector, but the projects are now much larger and more demanding. And the company has been developing in accordance with new requirements.
We should enable neighbouring countries to diversify their energy portfolio through Serbia. We will thereby also become more energy independent, as we will have the possibility of procuring energy products from several sources. If we produce energy ourselves, which is good, that will still be just one supplier (ourselves). But if we have many potential suppliers, we will increase the security of supply and reduce the purchasing price for energy, because we will be able to choose from whom we buy. In accordance with that, I believe that 12 billion should be partly spent on storage facilities, partly on transport and partly on production. We will consequently always have a choice of directions to procure energy
Working with and for NIS enabled you to gain valuable experience in the construction of industrial facilities. Does this mean that you are today able to completely design and build storage tanks for oil, petroleum derivatives and LPG, and does NIS remain an important investor for you?
– Gazprom, as the majority owner of NIS, is our biggest energy company and our biggest partner, alongside which we grow and learn. We were awarded in 2018 as the best works contractor at Gazprom in three out of four blocks within the NIS. We have just signed a contract for the reconstruction of the complete oil and gas terminal in the city of Niš, which is the largest reconstruction project of storage facilities owned by NIS and implies civil and mechanical works with the delivery of materials. This project was requested with a completion deadline of November 2023.
The new Government of Serbia recently announced the reform of the energy sector, which will include investments of 12 billion dinars. What should this reform bring us; will it reduce energy dependence?
– We are a market that will always be energy dependent, but we can use that dependence to our advantage, provided we are clever enough. The sooner we grasp the fact that all the surrounding economies are dependent on energy sources, and that they lack their own capacities to satisfy those needs, we will realise that the winner isn’t the one who possesses the capacity to satisfy their own needs, but rather the one who is essential to others meeting their needs. By adopting the stance that we are a transit country – in terms of the transit of people, goods and energy – we will gain a good strategic position and become essential to both the East and the West. It is precisely in light of this fact that I believe an emphasis should be placed on the development of transport and storage capacities.