Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar opposes building an oil storage facility for Ukraine in Hungary

In September, the memorandum on the project was signed by Ukraine’s Naftogaz and Hungary’s MOL. Naftogaz CEO Serhii Fedorenko announced the signing of the document on September 20, and the agreement itself was signed as part of the Carpathian Economic Forum.

Under the memorandum, the storage facility was to be built for Ukraine’s needs near the Hungarian-Ukrainian border. Fedorenko wrote on Facebook that, amid constant Russian attacks on Ukraine’s fuel infrastructure, diversifying supply routes and adding storage capacity outside the strike zone are needed for the stability of the entire market.

Magyar said in parliament on September 21 that these plans were a threat and repeated that there would be no construction as long as his Tisza party is in power. He also said that he had informed MOL’s management of his position and reminded them of the state’s 25 percent stake in the company.

Hungarian authorities say the government did not authorize MOL’s negotiations on building the storage facility. MOL, in turn, says that this is only a preliminary agreement and that preparing the project will take years.

The company also noted that it already stores oil on Hungarian territory in the interests of both other EU countries and non-EU states.

Sources

• Material: meduza.io