Gazprom Remains Open To Setting Up Hungary Gas Storage -Report

Russian energy group OAO Gazprom (GAZP.RS) is still open to establishing natural gas storage capacities in Hungary, a company executive told business daily Vilaggazdasag Wednesday.

Gazprom Deputy Chief Executive Alexander Medvedev stressed that earlier failures haven't discouraged the firm from setting up capacities in Hungary and added that Gazprom is open to such proposals from its Hungarian partners.

Gazprom already made an attempt in 2009 with Hungarian peer MOL Nyrt. (MOL.BU) to set up a 1.3-billion cubic meter gas storage facility with a daily output capacity of 15 billion cubic meters.

However, a feasibility study discouraged the companies, who last November decided to abandon the investment and to terminate Pusztafoldvar Gaztarolo Zrt, the joint venture established for the project with the two owners having equal shares.

"The two shareholders decided to voluntarily dissolve Pusztafoldvar Gaztarolo Zrt, as it achieved its original goal," MOL said about the project firm in its previous earnings report, stating the original goal was to "analyze feasibility of a new underground gas storage at Pusztafoldvar and some other potential reservoirs."

Newspaper website: www.vg.hu

-Budapest Bureau, Dow Jones Newswires; 361-267-0622