Orbán cabinet: Hungary’s gas reserves third highest in EU compared to annual consumption

Hungary’s gas storage facilities are 75 percent full, and given their outsized combined capacity, the country’s gas reserves relative to its annual consumption are well above the European Union average, the minister of technology and industry told a conference on Tuesday.

Speaking at the Portfolio Energy Investment Forum 2022, László Palkovics said the government’s strategic objectives concerning energy supplies included reducing the proportion of natural gas in the country’s energy mix, which required measures to reduce demand, increase efficiency and promote electrification. Utilisation of alternative energies should be promoted, capacities for electricity production increased and networks further developed, he added.

Concerning gas consumption, Palkovics said the government had prepared a comprehensive programme aimed at significant reductions by 2030, requiring investments of a combined 16 billion forints (EUR 38.3m) during the period. In an optimum case, a quarter of Hungary’s gas demand could be covered from domestic sources, therefore the government is planning to increase the country’s gas extraction from the current 1.5 billion cubic metres a year to 2 billion by 2030, he said.

At the same time, the proportion of electricity in the total energy consumption could increase from 20 percent to 26 percent by the end of the decade, he said, and noted the increasing role of solar plants.

As we wrote yesterday, another favour arrived from Moscow, Hungary gets payment extension with Gazprom, details HERE.

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