Astana (TDI): Kazakhstan and Hungary have signed a preliminary deal on the supply of Kazakh crude oil to Hungary via the Druzhba (Friendship) oil pipeline system through Russia.
According to Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Energy, the deal was inked during a meeting in Astana 17 between Kazakhstan’s Minister of Energy Almasadam Satkaliyev and Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó.
The two sides agreed to conduct test oil shipments this year.
Kazakhstan already exports oil to Germany through the Druzhba pipeline.
The ministers also discussed collaboration between Kazakhstan’s national oil and gas company, KazMunayGas, and Hungary’s MOL Group in developing the Rozhkovskoye gas condensate field in western Kazakhstan.
MOL Group has invested 200 million dollars in the development of this major field and has previously showed interest in processing Kazakh oil at Hungarian refineries.
On the same day in Astana, Szijjártó held discussions with Kazakhstan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Murat Nurtleu.
The foreign ministers reviewed trade and economic ties, noting that bilateral trade turnover increased by 4.4 percent last year, reaching about $200 million.
Both sides agreed to take additional steps to achieve the goal set by their leaders, to increase trade to $1 billion, according to Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry.
