Hungary hopes to start importing gas from Azerbaijan in 2021
The press service of the Hungarian government, following the meeting of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, Péter Szijjártó, and his Azerbaijani counterpart, Parviz Shahbazov, in Baku, announced that Hungary expects to start importing natural gas from Azerbaijan in 2021, writes Deutsche Welle.
As the Hungarian minister noted, the diversification of gas supply routes is extremely important for Hungary.
Szijjártó drew attention to the fact that "the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has a very serious impact on the Central European region since the agreement that would ensure the continuous supply of natural gas to Central Europe from Russia through Ukraine from the beginning of next year has not yet been concluded." "This is a particularly serious challenge for Hungary in view of the fact that more than half Russian gas imports into the country flow through Ukraine," explained the minister.
Péter Szijjártó said that in this situation, gas supplies from Azerbaijan look like "one of the most viable scenarios" to ensure Hungary's energy security.
Hungary annually consumes about 10 billion cubic meters of gas. Two-thirds of this is gas supplied from the Russian Federation through the territory of Ukraine (through the Beregovo GIS). Another 20% is Hungary’s own gas, and the rest is an import from Austria. Moreover, about 60% of the gas supplied to the hub in Baumgarten (Austria) is also transported through the Ukrainian GTS (GIS Uzhgorod). Recall that in May 2018, Azerbaijan began supplying gas to the Southern Gas Corridor, through which fuel from the Shah Deniz field will go to Europe.