Hungary and Serbia prepare to build a new oil pipeline - Hungary MoFA
At a joint press conference with Serbian Energy Minister Dubravka Đedović in Budapest, the minister said that the war in Ukraine is creating serious energy challenges for Europe and experts say it will be extremely difficult to prepare for the next winter.
He pointed out that 60 billion cubic metres less Russian gas will be available on the European market than last year, that demand has increased significantly due to the reopening of the Chinese economy, and that LNG capacities have not yet been built up to the extent that they can replace the lost volumes.
Szijjártó said that 9-15 million cubic metres of natural gas per day arrive from Serbia via the Turkish Stream pipeline, and that Serbia is also one of the possible routes for the quantities of gas to be purchased from Azerbaijan. Hungary is therefore interested in the development of the internal network in Serbia, considers it a European issue and therefore expects the European Union to finance all infrastructure developments in the region that will allow Central Europe to have access to alternative sources.
He said that a framework agreement had been reached on the storage of 500 million cubic metres of natural gas for Serbia in domestic storage facilities. In addition, Hungarian Electricity Works (MVM) and Srbijagas will soon set up a joint venture to carry out joint gas trading activities, thus strengthening the presence of the two countries in the Central European energy market, he said.
The minister then announced that Hungary and Serbia are preparing the construction of a new oil pipeline between Algyő and Novi Sad, which will contribute to improving the security of supply of both states. He said that negotiations between Mol and Transnafta on the project are ongoing. The contract on this could be signed at the Serbian-Hungarian government summit scheduled for June, he added.
He also welcomed the fact that the construction of the new cross-border electricity transmission line is on schedule, which will double the transmission capacity and is expected to be completed by 2028, with the next task being the designation of the crossing point.
Cover photo: Portfolio
