The MVM Group launched a new natural gas exploration and production investment in the Berettyóújfalu area of Hajdu-Bihar County at the end of last year. As planned, the first well started production on Monday at the beginning of the summer, the Energy Ministry announced.
The government is strengthening Hungary’s energy sovereignty and the security of supply for domestic consumers by increasing the use of domestically available resources, the ministry added.
The first Berettyó well, Konyár Ny-7, at a depth of 2,625 meters, was put into production on Monday.
Three more wells drilled at the site will be completed and tested, and another one is expected to be deepened later this year.
In the national energy company MVM’s other major domestic project, extraction has been underway since February last year. In the Nyékpuszta field near the town of Sarkad in Békés county (southeastern Hungary), four wells have been drilled so far, producing 73 million cubic meters of natural gas and 96,000 cubic meters of crude oil. Together with the existing wells, up to ten wells could be drilled at the two sites by the end of 2024.
So far, the four active wells in Békés County have produced 67 million cubic meters of natural gas.
Domestic gas consumption has fallen sharply from the pre-energy crisis level of 10-11 billion cubic meters per year to around eight billion cubic meters.
Further reductions in gas consumption could be achieved, for example, by improving energy efficiency, also supported by the home renovation program, or by increasing the use of geothermal heat.
At the same time, natural gas has a lasting role to play as a balancing energy source for weather-dependent renewables in a successful green transition, reads the statement.
The MVM Group is not only working to ensure secure supplies for consumers domestically but is also expanding its activities in natural gas production internationally. The company has recently signed an agreement to acquire a five percent stake in the Shah Deniz field, one of the world’s largest deep-sea gas fields in Azerbaijan, the ministry recalled.
