Azernews.Az

By Nigar Abbasova

Hungary, which heavily depends on oil and gas imports due to having scanty volumes of domestic oil and gas, is interested in gas supplies via the Turkish Stream pipeline.

Following the talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that the country stands for diversification of the Russian natural gas supplies to Europe.

“We’re taking interest in the Turkish Stream and will gladly participate if there is such an opportunity," he said.

Putin in turn said that gas could be supplied to Hungary through the Turkish Stream, but, before taking a final decision, it is necessary to assess all pros and cons of all of the routes (the Nord Stream 2, the Turkish Stream and the pipelines running via Ukraine).

Being a dominant supplier for both oil and gas to Hungary, Russia accounts for over 75 percent of oil and 60 percent of gas consumption in the country. Overall gas consumption in the country is forecasted to increase up to 10.9 bcm in 2025.

Russia and Turkey earlier signed an intergovernmental agreement envisioning the construction of two underwater legs of Turkish Stream in the Black Sea, while the agreement served as an additional signal that the project could be brought into force.

The agreement envisages construction of two branches of the pipeline under the Black Sea, with the capacity of each branch being 15.75 bcm of gas. Pipe-laying work for the Turkish Stream is expected to begin in 2017 and end in late 2019.

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Nigar Abbasova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @nigyar_abbasova

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