“Hungary’s commitment to developing the Romanian-Hungarian gas corridor is unbroken”, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Policy Péter Kaderják said on Monday at the on-site tour held at the Csanádpalota compressor station of the BRUA gas pipeline project, which was also attended by Ambassador of Romania to Hungary Marius Gabriel Lazurca and Ambassador-at-Large for Energy Security Pál Ságvári.
According to Péter Kaderják, the construction of the proposed Romanian-Hungarian gas pipeline development project in Hungary is progressing at an appropriate pace and according to schedule. In accordance with preliminary plans and in possession of the required licences and permits, the establishment of the new compressor station via the relocation of two 4.5 MW compressor units is already in the implementation phase at Csanádpalota. The project will allow the transmission of 1.75 billion cubic metres of natural gas per year from Romania to Hungary from the end of 2019. The cross-border pipeline in the direction of Romania is already able to transmit such a quantity today. According to Péter Kaderják, FGSZ Földgázszállító Zrt. meets all conditions under which the development projects on the Hungarian side required for natural gas transmission between Romania and Hungary, which will increase in the future, can be performed within the allotted deadline.
The Secretary of State stressed that the projects associated with the Hungarian-Romanian natural gas pipeline are also highly important for Hungary with relation to the security of supply, the development of the regional energy market and the dynamism of the bilateral energy relations. He pointed out that the development of the transmission corridor linking the two countries is fully consistent with efforts to establish the bi-directional flow of gas through cross-border points of the European Union. The project is enhancing the security of supply in Hungary and the countries in the region by diversifying energy sources and expanding transmission routes. By improving natural gas connections between Member States, the development to be implemented will cost-efficiently improve the energy security position of the Central and Southeast European countries; therefore, the Hungarian party is supporting the progress of the necessary projects in Hungary with unwavering commitment, added Mr. Kaderják.
Kristóf Terhes, CEO of FGSZ Földgázszállító Zrt., presented the projects on the Hungarian side to be implemented in two phases and their current status to the visitors. The development forms part of the BRUA gas pipeline project, which is highly important for the security of supply in the whole of Central Europe. The CEO said that the cross-border pipeline connecting the Romanian and Hungarian gas networks was currently in use and gas is being transmitted on a daily basis. With the developments to be implemented, bi-directional gas transmission in much larger quantities than at present can be ensured at the south-eastern border of the country, so in the future it may also become possible to forward other gas sources to our region besides those in Romania.
(Ministry of Innovation and Technology)