Natural gas reserves in Hungary have been decreasing steadily since the late 1980s.
In the early days of Hungarian natural gas mining, i.e. from 1937 to the late 1940s, mining was negligible, as demand for natural gas was low. The gas field near Hajdúszoboszló was discovered in the 1950s, and production commenced in the next decade.
Domestic production has not been able to cover demand since the early 1980s. Back then, approximately 7 billion cubic meters of natural gas was mined in Hungary annually, which had to be supplemented by only minor imports. Reserves have been steadily decreasing since 1986. Currently, 3 billion cubic meters of natural gas are produced in Hungary, which covers 20 per cent of the total domestic consumption. It is estimated that reserves will last another twenty years.
Last year, gas production in Hungary dropped by 2.3 per cent compared to 2008, from 2.53 billion cubic meters to 2.42 billion cubic meters.