The foreign minister has met with Gazprom’s chairman of the board Viktor Zubkov to discuss Hungary’s gas supply over the coming years.
Péter Szíjjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said gas transports via Ukraine for next year are uncertain, therefore Gazprom has promised to deliver part of Hungary’s 2020 gas supply this year.
According to MTI, Hungarian natural gas consumption is around nine billion cubic meters (bcm) per year, with some 20 percent coming from domestic gas fields, but the bulk of the remaining 80 percent is - directly or indirectly - provided by Russia.
Hungary has a gas storage capacity of 6.3 bcm, meaning that a full year's imports can be stored in advance.
“We are interested in having a reliable cooperation with Gazprom that guarantees the energy safety of the country,” Minister Szíjjártó said after the meeting. Last year Gazprom delivered a record 202 bcm of natural gas to Europe, with sales to Germany rising the fastest at 9.5 percent.