Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar has stated that his country intends to reduce its dependence on Russian oil and natural gas. In an interview with the Finnish newspaper “Helsingin Sanomat”, he said that Budapest will continue to seek alternative energy sources and supply routes. However, the head of government emphasized that it is not possible to eliminate dependence on Russian energy resources in the short term: “We cannot get rid of energy dependence on Russia overnight.”
Against the backdrop of Magyar's statement, the role Azerbaijan can play in Hungary's energy security, as well as the possibilities for expanding energy cooperation between Baku and Budapest, attract attention.
In a statement to Modern.az, Hungarian political scientist Attila Demko said that Azerbaijan is an important player in both the oil and gas markets, but one of the main issues concerns the delivery of energy resources to Central Europe, including Hungary.
According to him, although some issues in this direction have already been resolved, certain difficulties remain:
“I don't think Azerbaijan alone would be enough to meet Hungary's energy needs if Russian oil and gas supplies were stopped. However, Azerbaijan still plays a very important role. One of the reasons for this is that Hungary has a share in the “Shah Deniz” field. Hungary's state-owned company MVM Group has a 5 percent stake in this field. This participation is of significant importance for Hungary. Revenues from “Shah Deniz” help to some extent balance the financial burden created by buying energy resources from other sources at a higher price. Because it is not possible to bring all, or even a large part, of the gas produced from the field to Hungary.”
The political scientist noted that Azerbaijan is becoming an increasingly important energy source not only for Hungary but for Europe as a whole. However, the existing supply volumes do not allow for a complete replacement of Russia's energy resources.
“Azerbaijan is an important partner, but it cannot fully replace Russia. One possible solution for Hungary would be to at least partially continue the supply of Russian gas and oil. The requirements that the European Union intends to implement from next year are very unfavorable for Hungary. Therefore, we must find a common solution with the EU on this issue,” Attila Demko emphasized.
He also drew attention to the volume of gas supplies from Azerbaijan to Europe. He stated that in 2025, 12 billion cubic meters of gas were supplied to Europe, which is approximately 4 percent of the continent's total gas consumption. According to him, this volume is not enough to replace imports from Russia.
Touching upon energy cooperation between Hungary and Azerbaijan, the political scientist stated that there is an agreement on gas supply between MVM and the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR):
“We have an agreement to supply 800 million cubic meters of gas over two years. This gas is delivered to Hungary via the Southern Gas Corridor. However, we need billions of cubic meters of gas. Therefore, although 800 million cubic meters is a significant volume, it is not enough to fully replace supplies from Russia.”
Attila Demko also said that the volume of crude oil supplies is limited compared to Hungary's needs. According to him, although Hungary buys oil from Azerbaijan, if supplies from Russia stop, the country will need millions of tons of additional crude oil.
“Azerbaijan's support is important for us. This is not a small amount of aid. Both gas supplies started this year, and we have been buying oil from Azerbaijan from earlier periods. But we are talking about 160 thousand tons of oil. Russia currently accounts for 93 percent of Hungary's oil imports. Our country imports approximately 8.5 million tons of crude oil per year. Azerbaijan accounts for 160 thousand tons of this. Thus, the importance of Azerbaijani oil for Hungary is not small. However, to replace supplies from Russia, we need millions of tons of oil, not hundreds of thousands of tons,” the Hungarian political scientist concluded.
