Led by Alexey Miller, the Company’s Management Committee Chairman, Gazprom’s delegation today finalized its business trip to Hungary.

In the course of a working meeting between Alexey Miller and Ferenc Gyurcsany, Prime Minister of the Republic of Hungary, timed to the 30-year anniversary of Russian natural gas deliveries to Hungary, the former was awarded with the 2nd Class Order of the Hungarian Republic Cross for his outstanding services to the energy cooperation.

“Secure Russian natural gas supplies along with long-term mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries have vividly proved that the Hungarian economy can confidently lean on interaction with Gazprom in the energy sector,” - Ferenc Gyurcsany, Hungarian Prime Minister was quoted as saying.

Alexey Miller also held a meeting with Zsolt Hernadi, CEO of the Hungarian petroleum company MOL. The meeting addressed matters of bilateral cooperation in the gas sector, underscoring that Gazprom’s gas shipments to Hungary were on a constant rise and that the parties were highly appreciating the joint business results. In addition, the meeting dealt with new potential businesses between the two companies, in the oil sector inclusive.

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First launched in 1975, over 156 bcm of Russian natural gas had been supplied to the Hungarian Republic within the past 29 years, enabling the country to increase the natural gas share in the domestic fuel balance from 27% in 1980 to the present-day 48%. Delivering some 80% of the total, Russia is currently the Hungary’s major natural gas supplier.

Under long-term gas contracts up to 2015, about 195 bcm of Russian natural gas is projected to be shipped to Hungary via the two directions: Beregovo (Ukrainian-Hungarian border) and Baumgartner (Austrian-Hungarian border) gas acceptance & reception terminals. In 2004, Gazprom furnished Hungary with 9.25 bcm of natural gas, with 11.5 bcm/y scheduled to be supplied starting 2011 in pursuance of the contractual commitments.

Founded in 1991 on the platform of the Hungarian Oil and Gas Trust (OKGT), MOL is being engaged in oil & gas exploration, development, transmission, storage, distribution and marketing as well as a 5.2-thou-km-long gas pipeline network operation. Simultaneously, the company is exploring fields in Hungary, Russia and a string of other countries and is managing over 440 automobile fuelling stations in Hungary, Slovakia and Romania.

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