BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 25. Chairman and CEO of the Hungarian company MOL Group Zsolt Hernadi expressed that recent contract signings in Baku will enhance energy supply for Hungary and EU countries, Trend reports.
"September 20 marks a significant day for economic cooperation between Azerbaijan and Hungary. Thanks to the strong governmental relations, we have deepened our business collaboration further. ACG is our crown jewel, being the largest international hydrocarbon supplier. MOL's involvement in the project represents a flagship economic connection between our countries.
Additionally, ACG plays a crucial role in ensuring energy security for Central Europe. Production from the field provides us with flexibility in crude oil supplies for our refineries in Slovakia and Croatia, benefiting the entire region. I take great pride in signing the additional memorandum of understanding on deep gas with ACG, SOCAR, and bp. This clearly indicates a bright future for our partnership, and I look forward to further successes in land exploration in Azerbaijan alongside ongoing ACG developments offshore," MOL said.
MOL Group entered Azerbaijan in 2020 by acquiring a 9.57 percent stake in the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) oil field and a significant 8.9 percent stake in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline, which transports oil to the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. This involvement constitutes 15 percent of MOL’s total production and 25 percent of its total reserves as of 2023. The BTC pipeline is vital for delivering oil to MOL Group refineries in Central and Eastern Europe, including Slovnaft’s Bratislava Refinery and INA’s Rijeka Refinery.
The Azerbaijani asset provides MOL with the flexibility to decide whether to sell ACG-produced oil in Ceyhan or utilize it within MOL Group for contributing to European energy supply security.
Despite being a minority shareholder, MOL actively contributes to ACG's development by applying its expertise in reservoir management and extraction optimization. The company has signed a major agreement in Azerbaijan for developing gas reserves at ACG.
Following SOCAR and bp, MOL is the third-largest stakeholder in the giant ACG field and is also exploring opportunities in the onshore Shamakhi-Gobustan block in Azerbaijan.