Hungary has entered into a ten-year agreement for gas supply with Shell Plc, with deliveries commencing in 2026.

This was announced by Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto in an interview with Bloomberg during the Gastech conference in Milan.

Szijjarto indicated that Budapest signed the agreement to supply 2 billion cubic meters of gas over the next decade, starting in 2026. The gas will be delivered to Hungary via pipelines through the Czech Republic and Germany.

Despite the EU's goal to stop importing Russian fossil fuels by the end of 2027, Hungary has long opposed this plan, strengthening its energy ties with Russia since the onset of the war in Ukraine. Budapest has urged the EU to compensate member states for the costs of diversifying supplies to move away from cheaper Russian resources. Hungary is reportedly taking steps to explore alternatives, as noted by Bloomberg.

«We are negotiating other contracts with additional Western suppliers, but we are not yet able to announce anything», – Szijjarto stated.

The Hungarian Foreign Minister argued that the current EU plan for gradually phasing out Russian energy imports poses a serious threat to Hungary's energy security, citing that the country lacks sufficient pipeline infrastructure from other markets to meet necessary capacities.

Hungary has a contract with Russian Gazprom for the supply of 4.5 billion cubic meters of gas annually, valid until 2036, which has been supplemented with additional purchases since 2022.

Szijjarto also mentioned that Hungary's nuclear ambitions, which include doubling nuclear power capacity with two new reactors, will significantly reduce current gas imports and alleviate pressure on fuel supplies, enabling the country to meet 70% of its electricity demand independently.

«This is a situation that is on a different scale. We hope to advance such that the two new reactors are connected to the energy grid in the first half of the next decade», – Szijjarto said.