Hungary plans to meet the country’s natural gas needs without supplies from Russia by October 2027, said István Kapitány, the country’s Minister of Economy and Energy.
“If everything goes as we expect, Hungary’s gas supply will be secured from other, non-Russian sources by the deadline set by the European Union in October of next year,” the minister said in an interview with Telex published on September 18.
According to Kapitány, Hungary’s high dependence on Russian gas did not arise from a lack of technical capacity to purchase fuel from other countries. Hungary is connected by gas pipelines to several neighboring countries, and the Russian supply system was used for a long time primarily because it was considered the most cost-effective option. The minister did not specify by how much the share of Russian gas has already decreased in recent months.
The deadline is directly linked to new EU regulations. EU Regulation 2026/261 provides for the cessation of imports of Russian pipeline gas under long-term contracts after September 30, 2027. In exceptional cases, if a country is unable to ensure the required level of storage filling, the deadline may be extended to November 1, 2027.
For Hungary, the transition is particularly significant, as the state-owned MVM maintains a long-term contract with Gazprom Export for approximately 4.5 billion cubic meters of gas per year. The contract originally runs through 2036; however, MVM’s own documents note that the European ban will effectively prevent the use of Russian long-term supplies after the fall of 2027. The company is already expanding its portfolio of alternative gas sources.
LNG is becoming one of the key areas of focus. MVM ONEnergy has signed a five-year contract with the U.S.-based Chevron for approximately 2 billion cubic meters of liquefied natural gas. Deliveries under this contract are scheduled to begin on October 1, 2027, immediately after EU restrictions on Russian pipeline gas take effect.
In addition, MVM has reached an agreement with Azerbaijan’s SOCAR for the supply of 800 million cubic meters of gas over a two-year period starting in 2026.
Romania is emerging as another potential source. The development of the Neptun Deep field in Romania’s sector of the Black Sea is expected to begin production in 2027. Once it reaches full capacity, it is projected to supply approximately 8 billion cubic meters of gas per year, which will create additional opportunities for deliveries to Central Europe, including Hungary.
Thus, Captain’s statement signals a significant shift in Hungarian energy policy: Budapest, which in previous years had opposed an accelerated phase-out of Russian fuel, is now preparing its gas supply balance to meet EU requirements by the fall of 2027. At the same time, the minister emphasized that the country has sufficient gas supplies for the current heating season and that the authorities do not anticipate any problems with the physical availability of fuel.
