On January 16, the Hungarian company MVM started commercial negotiations with partners from Turkey on expanding gas supplies through Azerbaijani blue fuel and liquefied natural gas (LNG) delivered to Turkish seaports.

Speaking at a press conference after a meeting in Budapest with Mustafa Varank, the Minister of Industry and Technology of Turkey, Péter Szijjártó, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Economic Relations of Hungary confirmed the intention of Budapest to seek diversification of energy sources.

According to the head of the Hungarian diplomacy, the most realistic options for this are Azerbaijani gas and LNG entering Turkish ports. The Minister specified that commercial negotiations have already begun between MVM and its Turkish partners on the volume and timing of deliveries to the Hungarian market. He also stressed that the expansion of Azerbaijani gas supplies to Europe would require significant investment in pipeline infrastructure, and Hungary counts on financial assistance from the European Union in implementing such projects.

According to Szijjártó, Hungary's only reliable gas source is the Turkish Stream pipeline, which runs east-west at 100% of its capacity.

Notably, Azerbaijani gas supplies to Europe via the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), an integral part of the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC), began at the end of 2020. They are designed for 25 years, and their volume should be over 10 billion cubic meters, of which Italy accounts for 8 billion cubic meters (m) and 1 billion cubic meters (m are the share of Greece and Bulgaria. In accordance with the agreement between Azerbaijan and the European Union, gas supplies to Europe in the next five years will be increased to 20 billion cubic meters per year.