Hungary finalized a five-year LNG deal with U.S. energy company Chevron on Tuesday, signaling a move toward Western energy sources.
The agreement between Chevron and Hungary’s state-owned utility MVM ensures the delivery of 400 million cubic meters of LNG annually for the next five years, Hungary’s Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in a press conference with U.S. Deputy Energy Secretary James Danly.
Szijjártó described the deal as a ‘significant milestone,’ hailing it as a ‘golden age’ of cooperation between Hungary and the United States.
The agreement represents a move to broaden Hungary’s Western energy supply, even as it remains the EU’s closest ally and is heavily reliant on Russia’s fossil fuels.
The Chevron deal will meet only a small portion of Hungary’s LNG demand. The Central European country, home to 9.5 million people, consumed about 8.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas last year, with the vast majority coming from Russia.
Hungary has remained defiant amid continued pressure from Brussels and Washington to cut its dependence on Russian energy, yet it has sought to diversify its sources through new supply agreements.
In recent months, MVM has concluded several contracts with Western and regional suppliers, including Britain’s Shell, France’s Engie, and Azerbaijan’s SOCAR. Along with the Chevron deal, these agreements would allow Hungary to import 1.4 billion cubic meters of gas per year from sources outside Russia.
However, the diversification efforts are small compared with Hungary’s existing ties to Moscow. A 15-year supply deal with Russian state energy company Gazprom guarantees up to 4.5 billion cubic meters of gas annually through 2036, and the country has signed additional agreements with Russia in recent years.
Szijjártó earlier revealed that Hungary had received seven billion cubic meters of Russian gas by the end of November, underscoring the country’s dependence on Russian energy infrastructure.
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