In recent years, Hungary has developed into a regional gas hub. The country imports significant amounts of natural gas, while exports have risen significantly.
The analysis compiled by the Oeconomus Economic Research Foundation shows that the Hungarian natural gas market is no longer merely a consumer, but increasingly a transit and distribution center.
The report begins by listing Hungary’s natural gas reserves, which, although they have exceeded their historical peak, continue to represent significant added value. In 2025, domestic natural gas production amounted to over 1.6 billion cubic meters, representing a decline of 4.8% compared to 2024, but an increase of 1.1% compared to 2023.
Last year, 18.4% of domestic natural gas consumption came from domestic production.
Domestic natural gas production and consumption:
Imports
The import volume reached 12.4 billion cubic meters in 2025, an increase of 24% compared to 2024. According to Oeconomus, this significant increase is primarily due to higher exports and the rise in domestic consumption.
Development of natural gas imports:
Diversification has also increased with regard to import sources.
The majority of natural gas still comes via TurkStream from Serbia,
but its share fell from 75.65% to 62.48%. The volume of natural gas supplied from Austria increased significantly, accounting for 22.21% of Hungarian imports in 2025, compared to a virtually negligible share of 0.24% in 2024.
The volume and share of gas supplied from Romania declined (2024: 17.84%, 2025: 12.39%). A similar trend can also be observed for Croatia: 2024: 6.27%, 2025: 2.92%. No natural gas was supplied from Ukraine and Slovakia in 2025, and there is currently no physical connection with Slovenia.
In terms of daily volumes, average imports in 2025 amounted to 34 million cubic meters, compared to 27.4 million cubic meters in 2024.
Exports
Hungarian natural gas exports rose significantly in 2025, similar to imports. Growth was 28% compared to the previous year.
Over half of the exports went to Ukraine.
Due to attacks on Russian gas infrastructure, the neighboring country significantly increased its imports, including deliveries from Hungary, covering about 14% of Ukraine’s annual gas consumption.
Development of natural gas exports:
Last year, exports were distributed among the individual countries as follows:
Ukraine – 50.67%
Romania – 1.57%
Serbia – 2.25%
Croatia – 1.77%
Romania – 1.57%
In terms of daily export volumes, the average export in 2025 was 16 million cubic meters per day.
Diversification
The analysis notes that several new natural gas procurement contracts were concluded last year, which, while not in themselves bringing about a decisive change in Hungary’s import structure, nevertheless contribute significantly to the diversification of supply sources.
In September 2025, MVM CEEnergy signed a ten-year gas supply contract with British company Shell Energy. Under this contract, Shell will supply MVM with around 200 million cubic meters of natural gas annually from January 2026. The volume will come from LNG and is expected to be delivered via Croatia or Austria.
One month later, in October 2025, MVM signed a contract with French giant ENGIE Energy, under which Hungary will purchase 400 million cubic meters of LNG annually between 2028 and 2038, for a total of 4 billion cubic meters. The deliveries are also expected to enter the Hungarian network through Croatia and Austria.
In December 2025, MVM and Azerbaijan’s SOCAR signed a framework agreement enabling the purchase of a total of 800 million cubic meters of natural gas over two years, with a daily volume of up to 1.1 million cubic meters. The Azerbaijani natural gas is expected to reach Hungary via Serbia and the Turkish pipeline system.
In addition to the new contracts, the capacity of the gas pipelines was also expanded in 2025, further increasing the flexibility of the system.
In October 2025, the Hungarian operator of the natural gas transmission network (FGSZ) and Romania’s Transgaz amended their agreement on the border crossing at Csanádpalota. As a result, the pipeline has had greater capacity in both directions since November, with the hourly volume increasing from 300,000 to 310,000 cubic meters.
In November 2025, FGSZ and Slovakia’s Eustream also increased the available capacity on the Balassagyarmat-Veľké Zlievce (Felsőzellő) connection from Hungary to Slovakia. The new level allows for an annual export of 4.38 billion cubic meters, compared to 3.5 billion previously.
At the same time, trial operations of a new conversion module began at the Krk LNG terminal in Croatia, doubling the terminal’s capacity.
The analysis concludes that 2025 can be described as a positive year for the Hungarian natural gas network as a whole, as the role of gas distribution has been strengthened and diversification has begun. The changes were particularly evident in the expansion of supply routes and the increase in transit traffic. According to Oeconomus, the decisive factors in the near future will be the extent to which these processes are permanent and how they fit in with the European Union’s planned complete ban on gas imports from Russia.
Borítókép: Gas power station pipeline Photo: Pixabay/economus
