Hungary will again turn to Russia for natural gas supplies unless US group Exxon Mobil decides by September whether to invest in the massive Black Sea offshore project operated with Romania’s OMV Petrom, Hungarian foreign affairs minister Peter Szijjarto said on May 15 in an interview given during his visit to Huston.

A couple of days ago, Hungary’s prime minister Victor Orban met US president Donald Trump in Washington in a visit to coordinate regional foreign policy. The US Administration officials say the invitation to the White House for talks — the first for a Hungarian prime minister in years — is part of a concerted strategy to re-engage Central European nations as Russia and China seek to exert influence in the region, CNN reported.

Exxon is weighing several factors while deciding whether to invest in the Neptun Deep project in Romania, spokeswoman Julie King said on Wednesday.

“Exxon Mobil can be the game changer in the energy supply of Europe. But they should finally make their final investment decision,” Szijjarto told Reuters during an interview in Houston where he was opening a consulate office.

Exxon and Austrian energy group OMV’s Romanian subsidiary, OMV Petrom, have put on hold a decision on tapping the natural gas field pending legal framework revisions. The field has been estimated to hold 42 billion to 84 billion cubic meters of natural gas.

editor@romania-insider.com

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