Hungary can increase the volume of purchases of Russian gas: Budapest signed a memorandum with the Russian gas-producing corporation Gazprom.
Points of attention
- Recent memorandum signed between Hungary and Gazprom to increase purchases of Russian gas by 6.7 billion cubic meters.
- Hungary seeks to ensure long-term energy supply reliability and competitive prices through cooperation with Russia and Gazprom.
- Proposal to shift the transit of Russian oil from Ukraine's western to eastern border may impact transportation routes and oil prices.
- Péter Szijártó emphasizes the importance of securing Hungary's energy needs by forming strategic partnerships with Russia and Gazprom.
- Discussions ongoing about potentially unblocking the transit of Lukoil oil through Ukraine by transferring it to the eastern border.
Hungary "hooked" on the Russian "gas needle"
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary Péter Szijártó noted that the Hungarian government has an obligation and duty to ensure the reliability of the country's energy supply in the long term at competitive prices.
According to him, in the case of the purchase of natural gas, this is guaranteed by cooperation between Hungary and Russia, as well as between Hungary and Gazprom.
Reliability of supply is ensured by a long-term contract concluded in 2021 for 15 years, and price competitiveness is ensured by additional trading contracts concluded on an ongoing basis, which reduce the price of natural gas purchased. Thanks to this practice, 6.7 billion cubic meters of Russian gas will arrive in our country this year at competitive prices.
Szijjártó added that the Hungarian state energy company MVM and Russia's Gazprom signed an agreement "on the continuation of this favorable practice for Hungary." At the same time, Gazprom noted that the agreement provides for the possibility of increasing the supply of Russian gas to Hungary.
What is known about Hungary's attempts to unblock the transit of Lukoil oil through Ukraine
According to the head of the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's office Gergely Gulyas, the proposal to transfer the place of transit of Russian oil from the western border of Ukraine to the eastern one is being discussed.
If Ukraine agrees to such a step, the Hungarian MOL will handle the transit, and the price of oil will increase by approximately 1.5 dollars per barrel.
Gulyash said that the Ukrainian side does not seem to be against such an option.
