Diversification is not a task – – 2024-04-10 17:46:55

5. Budapest LNG Summit

Written by Rainer Ackermann

“Hungary will not terminate the long-term, advantageous Russian gas supply contract,” Foreign Trade Minister Péter Szijjártó made clear on Tuesday. The LNG cooperation with Shell will also be extended.

The minister gave the opening speech at the specialist conference, in which he pointed out that the uncertainties in the energy markets hit states without direct access to the sea the hardest. On behalf of these countries, Szijjártó reiterated the stance of removing political and ideological blinders when it comes to energy supply issues. Instead, it’s better to look at the physical realities.

As a landlocked country, dependent on neighbors

Security of supply is the top priority, with price coming second. “We do not abandon relationships that have proven themselves to be reliable in the past. The Orbán government will not give in to any political pressure in this matter,” said the minister, alluding to the political disputes in Vienna that OMV should withdraw from the long-term supply contract with the Russians. “Diversification in the gas market is important, but for us that does not mean giving up existing sources of supply. Rather, we always want to develop new, complementary sources.” As a landlocked country, Hungary is dependent on its neighbors.

TurkStream is vital today

Szijjártó described the TurkStream gas pipeline with an annual capacity of 8.4 billion m³ as the most successful energy project in recent years. “Without TurkStream we would be in trouble today, especially when we think about the imminent expiry of the Russian-Ukrainian transit agreement.” Among the many infrastructure projects with the neighbors, the minister highlighted the LNG terminal in Krk, Croatia, where Hungary is in As part of a seven-year contract worth 1 billion m³ receives natural gas from Shell each year. The Orbán government is ready to further increase this delivery volume.

The smartest people in Brussels

Finally, the Fidesz politician once again criticized Brussels’ negative attitude towards financing the construction of further gas pipelines. “They claim that natural gas will no longer be part of the energy mix in 15 years. There are definitely the smartest people in the EU Commission, but maybe someone will tell them that we have to survive another 15 winters before then.”