Minister: Hungary expects 100 million cubic metres of Azerbaijani gas by late 2023

Hungary's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto has said that the first consignment of 100 million cubic metres of gas from Azerbaijan to Hungary must arrive by the end of 2023.

The volume of supplies under the long-term agreement will increase in the future, Report informs, citing the foreign media.

"As a consequence of the political agreement with Azerbaijan, our trade negotiations have led to a small success - this year the supply of natural gas from Azerbaijan to Hungary will start. This year, 100 million cubic metres will arrive. This is not much in terms of annual Hungarian consumption - approximately 1.5 per cent - but it is the first step to conclude a long-term contract with Azerbaijan for several billion cubic metres of gas," he said at a press conference with Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean.

Earlier, he stated that the country is interested in receiving additional volumes of gas from Azerbaijan through the interconnector between Serbia and Bulgaria after its completion.

The two-day visit of the Azerbaijani president on January 29-30 outlined the countries' joint strategy to position Hungary among the energy importers from the South Caucasus country.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in a joint press conference that Europe is again facing a scenario of energy transportation from Azerbaijan following the failure of the implementation of the NABUCCO project 10 years ago, a postponed 3,900-kilometer (2,400 mi) natural gas pipeline designed to carry Caspian Sea gas to the Central European market.

Azerbaijan has been supplying natural gas to Europe on the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) since December 31, 2020, when commercial supplies began on the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) – the latest portion of the 3,500-kilometer three-segmented mega energy route.

Ten billion cubic meters (bcm) per year out of 16 bcm total annual volume on SGC, which stretches from Azerbaijan’s Caspian Sea shores to Italy by traversing Georgia, Türkiye, Greece and Albania, are destined for European customers.