Hungary decree allows government to supervise energy firms if needed
By Krisztina Than
BUDAPEST (Reuters) -Hungary has handed a decree empowering the federal government to take over the supervision of significant vitality corporations and the gasoline pipeline community operator FGSZ in an emergency that might require it to make sure steady provide.
Tuesday’s decree, signed by Prime Minister Viktor Orban, covers key corporations within the energy, gasoline and oil industries, in addition to district heating corporations and mining, together with FGSZ and the Hungarian gasoline and gasoline stockpiling affiliation.
The decree — which inserts in with interventionist insurance policies of Orban’s authorities which has capped gasoline costs and households’ vitality payments — was handed simply as Europe readies for any potential cuts in Russian gasoline provides.
The European Union’s vitality chief on Monday urged international locations to replace their contingency plans for provide shocks.
Oil and gasoline group MOL, which controls FGSZ, stated in an emailed reply to Reuters that it “refuses to touch upon authorities technique geared toward addressing war-related eventualities”.
“Such measures aren’t unusual in EU international locations,” it stated.
Hungary is about 85% reliant on Russian gasoline imports and 65% reliant on crude oil imports from Russia, and likewise imports a smaller a part of the electrical energy it wants, so its publicity in case of an vitality disaster in Europe is excessive, analysts say.
“By way of the essence of this Hungarian measure, I do not see a giant distinction in contrast with different contingency plans in Europe,” Erste Financial institution oil and gasoline sector analyst Tamas Pletser stated.
Fitch Rankings stated on Wednesday that Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic have been essentially the most uncovered amongst Central and Jap European states to any sudden cessation of Russian gasoline provides to EU international locations.
“Slovakia, Hungary and Czech Republic mix excessive reliance on Russian gasoline with a scarcity of viable short-term various vitality provides,” the score company stated.
“In distinction, Poland, Lithuania and Romania have largely secured various provides or have vital home manufacturing.”
Hungarian International Minister Peter Szijjarto stated this month that Gazprom chief govt and Russia’s deputy prime minister, Alexander Novak, had each assured him the corporate would fulfil obligations to Hungary set out in its long-term gasoline provide contract.
Beneath a take care of Gazprom signed final yr, Hungary receives 3.5 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gasoline per yr through Bulgaria and Serbia and an additional 1 bcm through a pipeline from Austria. The deal runs for 15 years.
EU international locations’ mixed gasoline storage is almost 57% full, in keeping with information from Fuel Infrastructure Europe earlier this week. Filling ranges range between international locations, nonetheless, with storage in Germany 57% full versus 97% in Poland and 39% in Hungary.
(Reporting by Krisztina Than; Enhancing by Clarence Fernandez and Michael Perry)
