Azerbaijan, Hungary to sign new oil, gas contract in 2026 - Aliyev

BAKU. May 20 (Interfax) - Azerbaijan and Hungary will sign a new oil and gas cooperation contract at the beginning of 2026, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said.

The two countries have successfully cooperated in the energy industry, Aliyev and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in a joint press statement. Hungarian companies own stakes in two main oil and gas projects in Azerbaijan, in the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) and Shah Deniz fields, the statement said. Yet another contract will be signed early next year, it said.

A Hungarian company will start working at Azerbaijani onshore oilfields, Aliyev said, without naming the company.

The two countries are also cooperating on natural gas supplies, he said.

Azerbaijan has been exporting natural gas to Hungary since last year, and today the two countries' leaders noted that Azerbaijan can provide Hungary with as much gas as it needs, Aliyev said.

It was reported that Hungary's MOL currently owns 9.57% in the project to develop the ACG block of oilfields and 8.9% in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline project. In addition, on September 20, 2024 State Oil Company of the Azerbaijani Republic (SOCAR) and MOL Hungarian Oil and Gas signed a memorandum of understanding titled, "On the exploration, development and production at the onshore Shamahi-Gobustan oil and gas field."

Furthermore, Hungary's MVM Group bought a 5% stake in the Shah Deniz project from Azerbaijani company Cenub Qaz Dehlizi (CQD) and 4% in South Caucasus Pipeline Company (SCPC, which operates the South Caucasus Pipeline) from Azerbaijan Gas Supply Company Limited (AGSC). The agreement was signed on June 5, 2024. The deal was closed on August 30.