Trade Minister: Hungary 2020 gas supply secured

Budapest, August 22 - Neftegaz.RU. Hungary’s gas supplies are already secured for 2020 even if a new Russian-Ukrainian agreement falls trough, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó told a press conference after meeting Aleksandar Antic, Serbia’s minister for energy and mining, on August 21.

Hungarian gas storage facilities will be filled by the autumn, the minister Szijjártó said. According to an agreement signed with Antic, Serbia’s gas supply will be ensured via Hungary in 2020, he said.

Concerning the pipeline to supply gas through Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, and Serbia, Szijjártó said it would not operate with full capacity before 2021 due to legal proceedings under way in Bulgaria, but added that after that year it could serve Hungary with as much as 10 billion cubic metres of natural gas per year.

Antic said that good partnership with Hungary was a priority for his country, and voiced his appreciation for Hungary’s support in terms of securing gas supplies for Serbia. He added that Serbia was making all efforts to become a European Union member in the foreseeable future.