CAIRO, Feb. 11 (UPI) -- Budapest and Cairo discussed the possible participation of Hungarian companies in oil and gas projects, with a potential deal for Nabucco, officials said.
Egyptian Petroleum Minister Sameh Fahmi welcomed his Hungarian counterpart Peter Honig to launch a joint effort in the natural gas and oil sector, the official Egypt State Information Service reports.
Honig said Egypt has a vital role to play in the global energy sector, adding Fahmi could develop his country as an Arab link to the Nabucco natural gas pipeline.
Europe aims to break the Russian hold on the European energy sector with its Nabucco gas pipeline. The project would bring Middle Eastern and Central Asian natural gas through Turkey along a route that avoids politically sensitive territory in Ukraine.
Nabucco enjoys widespread political support, though non-Russian suppliers are slow to come forward with commitments.
Hungarian Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai told reporters in Cairo that Egypt was needed as a Nabucco partner "so there may be enough gas in this pipeline."
Egypt could link its Trans-Arab pipeline to Nabucco. Bajnai, the Hungarian news agency MTI said, wants Egypt to become a supplier of liquefied natural gas for his country.
