Under the terms of a contract signed between Turkish state firm BOTAŞ and Hungary’s MVM CEEnergy in August last year, the EU member country will receive as much as 275 million cubic meters of natural gas in the coming weeks alone — more than all Hungarian households use for heating and cooking in the average month.
Speaking at an energy conference in Russia’s Black Sea city of Sochi last week, Budapest’s top diplomat hailed the start of the scheme as a “historic day” that would strengthen ties with Ankara.
For Turkey, the pact also represents a chance to become a “gas hub” for all of Europe — an ambition Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has trumpeted in the face of runaway inflation and growing public discontent. While Turkey currently supplies Bulgaria with up to 1.85 billion cubic meters of gas per year, the deal with Budapest is the first time Turkey has exported gas beyond its direct neighbors.
Yet there are concerns that the gas Turkey is shipping to Europe could actually be from Russia, just as EU nations work to end their dependency on Moscow. Turkey is largely dependent on imports itself and, although a member of the NATO military alliance, Ankara has refused to impose Western-led sanctions on Moscow and has vowed to increase its energy trade with Russia.
“Turkey wouldn’t be able to have such cheap gas prices if it came from somewhere else apart from Russia,” said Aura Sabadus, an associate fellow of the Royal United Services Institute and analyst with commodities experts ICIS.
Hungary is also one of Europe’s cheapest gas markets because of its discounted Russian gas purchases.