Minister: Shell to sign new gas contract with Hungary

The Hungarian foreign minister announced on Tuesday that, later that day, he will sign a long-term contract for the purchase of gas with Shell. This would be "the largest volume and longest Western supply contract in history".

In his statement, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto didn't provide any additional details.

Hungary has an agreement with Russia for long-term supply of gas to cover the majority of its needs.

Szijjarto stated that he would announce the signing of an extended contract with Shell later today, but did not reveal the date or volume.

"Are we going to survive without Russian gas with this?" Because of the geographical and infrastructure conditions, no. "Not until we have proper development of infrastructure in the region."

In 2020, Shell signed a six-year contract for the purchase of 250 million cubic meters of natural gas per year between 2021-2027. It was Hungary's very first long-term deal for liquid natural gas with an energy company from the West.

A Central European gas trader said that Hungary has been receiving LNG from Shell for a long time. The announcement today will confirm the success of this partnership.

In the beginning of this year, Slovakia and Hungary refused to accept plans by the European Commission for a phase-out of Russian gas and energy imports. This aggravated their rift with Brussels regarding their relationship with Moscow.

Last year, Hungary increased its purchases of Gazprom gas, which it receives from the Turkstream pipeline via Bulgaria and Serbia.

Szijjarto stated earlier this month, that Hungary imported around 5 billion cubic meters via the Turkstream pipe via Serbia by the middle of August. He said this means that this year's imports of gas via Turkstream may reach a record.

Hungary also purchases gas from Romania via the HAG pipe, which connects Austria to Hungary.

(source: Reuters)