Spectacular photos of the new Hungarian gas field

Gas production started on Monday at a hydrocarbon field in south-east Hungary, and the drilling of a second well will start in the coming days, the energy ministry said.

Research, development and production at the field near Sarkad was conducted by a consortium led by state-owned MVM, the statement said.

The project is part of the government’s efforts to strengthen Hungary’s energy sovereignty and supply security, the ministry said. The ministry is planning to increase domestic production to 2 billion cubic meters from 1.5 billion, it said.

The ministry noted that gas consumption dropped by 17 percent during last year’s energy crisis. The role of sustainable resources is growing in Hungary, but gas will remain an important complementary resource to weather-dependent energy production, it said.