It announced the signing of a five-year supply contract (LNG) with the American energy company, but despite being a member of the EU it will continue to depend heavily on it for its supply of fossil fuels.
Official announcements from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The new deal between Chevron and Hungarian state power company MVM calls for the delivery of 400 million cubic meters of LNG per year over the next five years, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó told a news conference.
With US Undersecretary of Energy James Danley by his side, the Hungarian foreign minister hailed the new “golden era” of energy cooperation between the two NATO member countries.
Close relations with Moscow
This Central European country of 9.5 million remains, within the European Union, the Kremlin’s closest partner, despite Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Hungary has resisted EU and US calls to reduce its dependence on Moscow for its energy needs.
Last month, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán pledged to continue importing Russian hydrocarbons during a meeting with President Vladimir Putin, despite an EU plan to ban all Russian gas imports by the end of 2027.
In recent months, MVM has signed contracts with Shell (UK), Engie (France) and SOCAR (Azerbaijan).
Supply from both USA and Russia
Thanks to the agreement with Chevron, these contracts should allow Hungary to import 1.4 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year from non-Russian sources.
However, the 15-year contract Hungary signed with Russia’s Gazprom calls for the supply of 4.5 billion cubic meters per year until 2036. This is in addition to other supply deals that have been signed in recent years.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó previously said seven billion cubic meters of Russian gas had arrived in Hungary at the end of November. Last year, Hungary consumed about 8.5 billion cubic meters.
