Hungary looks for gas from the Black Sea and the north: talks on Neptun Deep, and all V4 states are now in CESEC

Hungary’s Minister of Economy and Energy, Kapitány István, discussed Hungary’s gas supply options and the expansion of cross-border transport capacity with Romania’s new energy minister, Dumitru Chisăliță, Világgazdaság reported on 7 November, based on a post by the minister. The two sides plan to meet again soon to turn their plans into concrete measures.

Neptun Deep. The Black Sea field, a project of about EUR 4 billion, is expected to start production in 2027. According to the same publication, Romania’s supreme court rejected an appeal by the organisation Bankwatch, ending the dispute over the 308 km Tuzla–Podișor pipeline, built for more than EUR 500 million. The benefit for Hungary remains uncertain: Romania has indicated that its domestic market takes priority and that other buyers can only access volumes beyond that need.

The northern route. A day earlier in Zagreb, Czechia and Poland officially joined the CESEC group for Central and South-Eastern European energy connectivity, so all four Visegrád Group countries are now members; Hungary has been a member since 2015. According to the European Commission, the group has 11 EU member states and eight Energy Community contracting parties. “Visegrád cooperation is now complete in energy as well,” Kapitány said, quoted by Magyar Hírlap, adding that Polish and Baltic LNG terminals could supply Hungary more competitively.

Context. According to GlobalHír, the minister said in Zagreb that Hungary, as a landlocked country, is particularly exposed to supply routes; the agenda included Romanian offshore gas, Croatian and Greek LNG capacity and the Vertical Corridor. Világgazdaság notes that the accession is not a gas purchase contract and does not immediately replace Russian gas.

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