Hungary wants Europe to build a gas pipeline from Turkmenistan with a capacity of 30 billion cubic meters/year

Turkmenistan has the world's fourth-largest natural gas reserves after Russia, Iran and Qatar, and ranks 11th in the world in terms of production. The country could be an 'easy' choice to secure energy supplies to Europe.

Hungary đề xuất châu Âu xây đường ống khí đốt từ Turkmenistan với công suất 30 tỷ mét khối/năm

Turkmenistan ranks 11th in the world in terms of gas production and is one of the gas suppliers that Europe is "looking" at. (Source: presstv.ir)

On June 9, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto announced that Europe needs to build a 300-km gas pipeline with an annual capacity of 30 billion cubic meters to ensure natural gas supplies from Turkmenistan, while existing pipelines in Southeast Europe need to be upgraded.

A Hungarian delegation led by Prime Minister Viktor Orban, along with Energy Minister Csaba Lantos, Economic Development Minister Marton Nagy and Culture Minister Janos Csak, arrived in Turkmenistan on June 8. During the visit to the capital Ashgabat, the two sides are expected to sign a number of cooperation agreements.

“Turkmenistan could be an easy solution to secure energy supplies to Europe, as it has the fourth largest natural gas reserves in the world after Russia, Iran and Qatar, and ranks 11th in the world in terms of production,” according to the Hungarian Foreign Minister. The only obstacle is the lack of gas pipelines from the east to the west coast of the Caspian Sea.

"Once the legal issues are resolved, a 300-kilometer gas pipeline with an annual capacity of 30 billion cubic meters should be built," the Hungarian foreign minister stressed. After the pipeline is built, gas can be supplied from Turkmenistan to Southeast Europe via Azerbaijan and Türkiye. Then, gas can be transported to Hungary via Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia, where the pipeline needs to be upgraded to have a higher capacity, Szijjarto added.

Last week, Hungarian energy company MVM CEEnergy and the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) signed an agreement that will see 100 million cubic meters of gas delivered to Hungary by the end of 2023.

Budapest is trying to diversify its gas supplies. It is also interested in increasing LNG supplies through Croatia's Krk terminal and developing a gas field in Romania. Budapest is also considering importing oil from Ecuador if transporting Russian oil via Ukraine by land becomes impossible.

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