Hungary: EU is not doing enough to reduce Russian gas dependency

Hungary's chief energy security official on Wednesday criticised the European Union for failing to provide enough support in order to help smaller countries, which are landlocked, move away from Russian gas.

Csaba Maresvari, Hungary’s deputy state secretary of energy security, said at the Gastech Conference in Houston that landlocked, smaller states like Hungary need more funding to reduce their reliance on Russian Gas.

After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Hungary and some of its neighbours are under increasing pressure to diversify away from Russian energy.

Marosvari stated that "in our region, there are many small countries and markets, very few market players, and a lack of capital. These types of infrastructure projects, as well as de-bottlenecking, can cost hundreds of millions of Euros. In fuel market terms, it's not possible to complete," he said.

According to Marosvari, the European Commission's decision to finance green energy projects in order to reduce reliance on fossil-fuels has left certain countries out of this mix.

He added, "As a consequence of the conflict in Ukraine, we have received more and more pressure to diversify away from Russian fuels faster, but they refuse to provide the funds for us to be able do this."

A 15-year agreement signed in 2021 has seen Hungary receive 4.5 billion cubic meters (bcms) of Russian gas each year.

Marosvari stated that Hungary had signed short-term LNG deals with Azerbaijan, and Turkey in order to reduce its dependency on Russian sources. The company also expects that in the future, Turkey and Greece will become major suppliers of LNG and pipeline gas.

Marosvari stated that "you don't want to put all of your eggs in one basket" and this also applies to natural gas.

"The Russians deliver according to the contract, they are reliable for us, but this doesn't mean that we must stick with one source. So we have been carrying out a diversification of supply." (Reporting and Editing by Marguerita Chôy in Houston)

(source: Reuters)