Gas in Makó – The dream of “Hungarian Kuwait”

Hungary could not become in so furthermore future a gas state. In the September of the previous year the Hungarian daughter of the Canadian enterprise encountered Falcon oil & gas, TXM, with research drillings nearby the city Makó (southeast Hungary) an enormous gas field. The concession for the development of the gas field had been given to Falcon by the Hungarian state 2005. The Canadian enterprise invested approximately 250 million US Dollar since then into the promiseful project in, Hungarian Kuwait.

The acting director of TXM, György Szabó, said opposite the week magazine hvg that the so called, ditch of Makó, not less than 1.5 bio. Cubic meter natural gas in itself saves. Only to the comparison: The annual gas consumption of Hungary amounts to more than 14 billion cubic meter. Since Hungarian gas production is with less than 3 billion cubic meter, Hungary is dependent on solid gas imported goods from the foreign country. 2006 amounted to the imported goods for example 721 billion Ft (scarcely 3 billion euro).

Although Falcon TXM received this yearly also the concession for the gas production in May, the enterprise is still far to pump gas to the earth's surface. The Canadian enterprise wants to adapt gas production technologies, which were tested successfully in the USA, to the characteristics of the Hungarian lowland. This encounters however large difficulties: On the one hand the temperature of the gas is higher in Hungary than for instance in the Rocky Mountains. On the other hand the Hungarian rock is differently constituted than in the USA.

Skepticism in the professional world

For the adaptation of the American technologies roughly 100 million US Dollar would be necessary, which Falcon does not have plain and simply no more. The enterprise looks for therefore feverish for a potent strategic financial partner. So far however unsuccessfully. Since many specialists appear sceptically over the fact that American gas production technologies in Hungary could function is shown, from the business and financial world little interest.
For the Hungarian national budget a gas production running on full speed would be anyhow lucrative in Makó extremely. After Hungarian law a delivery at a value of 12% per cubic meter must be paid to the state with the production by natural gas. (babelfish translation)

Read the original article (german)