MOL Group and Turkish Petroleum collaborate in hydrocarbon exploration in Hungary

By: Trademagazin Date: 2025. 05. 02. 09:28

MOL Group and Turkish Petroleum have signed concession agreements with the Hungarian Ministry of Energy, allowing them to jointly explore for hydrocarbons in two concession areas in Hungary, Tamási and Buzsák.

The joint tender and exploration programme are the first significant steps since the strategic partnership agreement between the two companies was signed last year. The two companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Istanbul in October 2024, expressing their intention to jointly participate in exploration, field development and production projects in the Caspian region, Turkey, North Africa, the Middle East and Central and Eastern Europe.

The concession contracts were signed in Budapest by Zsolt Hernádi, Chairman and CEO of the Mol Group, and Ahmet Türkoglu, Chairman and CEO of Turkish Petroleum, in the presence of Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Alparslan Bayraktar, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of Turkey.

It was announced that the Ministry of Energy announced new mining concessions last autumn, after a five-year hiatus, emphasizing the importance of increasing Hungarian production and reducing import exposure. Mol submitted applications for five concessions, of which it won four. It applied independently for the two areas covering the Kiskőrös and Hatvan regions, while it applied jointly with TPOC Ltd, a subsidiary of Turkish Petroleum, for the Buzsák and Tamási (South Transdanubia) concessions.

According to the information, Mol and Turkish Petroleum have previously collaborated on hydrocarbon exploration and production projects, such as the ACG (Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli) deepwater field in Azerbaijan and the Baitugan field in Russia.

Mol is the largest hydrocarbon production company in Hungary, with approximately 1,300 oil and natural gas production wells. In 2024, it provided 47 percent (almost 600 thousand tons) of Hungarian crude oil production and approximately 90 percent (almost 1.5 billion cubic meters) of natural gas production. Hungary remains the most important country in the Mol Group’s hydrocarbon production portfolio, currently accounting for approximately 39 percent of total production.