BUDAPEST, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Hungary's foreign minister said on Tuesday that he would sign a new long-term gas purchase agreement later in the day with oil and gas major Shell (SHEL.L) , opens new tab, which would be the country's "largest volume and longest western supply contract ever".

Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto did not give any further details in his statement.

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Hungary currently has a long-term gas supply deal with Russia to cover most of its gas needs.

"Later today we will announce the signing of a new long term contract with Shell," Szijjarto said, without revealing the timeframe or volumes.

"But with this, are we going to be able to live without Russian gas? No, because of geographical and infrastructural conditions. Not until we have proper infrastructure development in the region."

A six-year purchase contract with Shell was concluded in 2020 for 250 million cubic metres of natural gas annually, between 2021 and 2027. This was Hungary's first long-term liquid natural gas deal with a Western energy company.

"Hungary has a long history of LNG deliveries from Shell, and today's announcement will further confirm that this cooperation is working well," an active trader from the Central European gas market said, adding that Hungary was nonetheless the single biggest buyer of Russian gas within the European Union.

Earlier this year Slovakia and Hungary rejected European Commission plans to phase out Russian gas and other energy imports, deepening a rift with Brussels over their relations with Moscow.

Hungary, which has been receiving Russian gas from the south via Bulgaria and Serbia through the Turkstream pipeline, increased its purchases from Gazprom last year.

Szijjarto said earlier this month that Hungary had imported some 5 billion cubic meters of gas via the Turkstream pipeline via Serbia by the end of August, which he said means this year's gas imports via Turkstream could hit a record high.

Hungary, which ships gas to Slovakia via an interconnector, also buys gas from Romania, and smaller volumes via the HAG pipeline which runs from Austria into Hungary.

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/hungary-sign-new-gas-supply-contract-with-shell-minister-says-2025-09-09/