(Adds comment, background)
BUDAPEST, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Hungary plans to cooperate
with Croatia to increase the capacity of the Adriatic pipeline
that brings non-Russian crude to Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor
Orban's chief of staff told a briefing on Thursday.
Gergely Gulyas said the government had discussed its 2030
energy strategy and this would include enabling Hungarian oil
and gas group MOL's Danube refinery to process more non-Russian
crude.
Landlocked Hungary in central Europe is one of the region's
countries most exposed to Russian fuel imports. MOL's refinery
gets crude via the Druzhba pipeline.
The Druzhba network originates in Russia and branches in
Belarus into Ukraine, where it divides again to supply several
countries in Eastern and Central Europe that depend on it,
including refineries in Hungary, the Czech Republic and
Slovakia.
"We know that if there was no crude oil coming from Russia
now, then shipments could only come via the sea, on the Adriatic
pipeline. But the capacity of this pipeline is only 70%-80% of
what would be needed," Gulyas told the briefing.
"So this is a project of special importance, which Hungary
would like to implement together with Croatia," he added.
Gulyas said nuclear energy, renewables, including solar
energy, and the development of the national grid, would be
central to the strategy that the government plans to finance by
drawing on the European Union's recovery fund, once an agreement
is reached on the money.
Brussels suspended the disbursement of EU funds to Hungary
over a rule-of-law dispute, but Budapest hopes to unblock the
funds by the middle of the year.
(Reporting by Krisztina Than, Editing by Alan Charlish and
Barbara Lewis)
Messaging: krisztina.than.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
