Hungary could technically replace Russian natural gas within a year, signalling a potentially important shift in Central and Southeast European gas flows as Budapest increases access to alternative supply routes.
Hungary has sufficient pipeline infrastructure to source gas from neighbouring countries and could secure non-Russian supply by October 2027.
State-owned MVM has already signed diversification agreements involving LNG delivered through Croatia’s Krk terminal and additional supplies from Western companies. It retains a long-term Gazprom contract for up to 4.5 bcm a year, with most Russian volumes arriving through TurkStream and its Southeast European extensions.
Hungary is also discussing greater use of Croatia’s Adria oil pipeline as an alternative to Russian crude delivered through Druzhba.
A diversification push would increase the strategic value of Croatia, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia as transit or supply markets. The commercial issue is increasingly the delivered price of alternative gas rather than the physical availability of alternative routes.
