Hungary is negotiating for gas from Romania’s Neptun Deep field, but Romania has committed no volumes to Budapest. Croatia is doubling pipeline capacity and Hungary’s MVM has booked LNG terminal space, yet its publicly known non-Russian gas contracts total less than 1 bcm a year.
Romania’s Neptun Deep and the Arad-Szeged Route
Neptun Deep is due to start production in 2027, the same year the EU ban on Russian pipeline gas takes effect in autumn. Romanian media report that Bucharest intends to meet domestic demand first. The proposed Arad-Szeged route is marked at 4.4 billion cubic metres a year, but a route on a map remains only a proposal until a supply agreement is signed.
The cross-border pipeline also needs expansion. There are no dates for the work on the Romanian side. And according to Romanian media, at least during the summer, gas travelling through that pipe into Hungary included Gazprom gas in transit. A different entry point does not necessarily mean a different supplier.
Croatia and the Krk LNG Terminal
This is Budapest’s most developed alternative. The pipeline from Croatia to Hungary is set to double in capacity by the end of the year, and state-owned MVM has reserved space at the Krk LNG terminal. The planned route is marked at 3.5 billion cubic metres annually.
But MVM’s publicly known contracts for non-Russian gas add up to less than 1 billion cubic metres a year. Hungary needs to replace several billion. MVM treats any other supply arrangements as a commercial secret. More pipe and a terminal booking cannot, by themselves, deliver the missing gas.
The Other Routes
A pipeline from Slovakia could carry a substantial share of Hungary’s needs, but it has no identified replacement supplier. Slovakia has a Gazprom contract running to 2034 and is challenging the EU ban. For now, gas flows the other way: Hungary sends Russian gas arriving via TurkStream to Slovakia. The route is marked at 4.5 billion cubic metres, with no supplier named.
Poland has offered a northern route for LNG from its terminals. So far, that means cooperation, not contracted volumes.
Viktor Orban’s governments have long relied on Moscow’s gas while doing little to secure alternatives.
The new Hungarian government is now negotiating with neighbours against a deadline, with transport capacity taking shape faster than the contracts needed to fill it.