MOL Group and Turkish Petroleum signed the concession agreements with the Ministry of Energy of Hungary, granting rights for joint hydrocarbon exploration in two Hungarian concession areas, Tamási and Buzsák. The joint bidding and the exploration program are the first important steps since the companies signed a strategic partnership agreement last year. MOL and Turkish Petroleum are identifying further joint opportunities in the Caspian region, in the Black Sea area, in North Africa and in Central and Eastern Europe.

The concession agreements were signed in Budapest by Zsolt Hernádi, Chairman and CEO of the MOL Group and Ahmet Türkoğlu, Chairman and CEO of Turkish Petroleum, in the presence of Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary and Alparslan Bayraktar, Minister, Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources.

The Ministry of Energy of Hungary announced new mining concessions last autumn after a five-year hiatus, citing the need to boost domestic production and reduce import exposures. MOL bid for 5 concessions and won 4 of them. For two concessions, that cover the Kiskőrös and Hatvan area, MOL bid independently, while for the Buzsák and Tamási areas (Southwest Hungary), the company bid jointly with TPOC Ltd, a subsidiary of Turkish Petroleum.

Last October, MOL Group and Turkish Petroleum signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Istanbul, in which the two companies expressed their intention to jointly participate in exploration, field development and production projects in the Caspian region, in Türkiye, North Africa and Middle East as well as in Central and Eastern Europe.

“I am proud to be signing this Concession Agreement along with our respected partner, Turkish Petroleum. Today’s ceremony is the culmination of months of hard work in which we have taken MOL and TPAO’s cooperation to a new strategic level. Beyond our close partnership, TPAO’s entry into the Hungarian upstream sector is also a vote of confidence by TPAO in the Hungarian business environment. In the turbulent geopolitical environment that surrounds us, business partnerships are more valuable than ever. We are more resilient, stronger, smarter together and we are able to mitigate investment risks better. I believe that our partnership with Turkish Petroleum will mutually strengthen the portfolio of both companies. I am also confident that this is only the first step in our enhanced partnership with TPAO - I am hoping we can announce similarly key instances of cooperation soon, including in Türkiye and in third countries.” - said Zsolt Hernádi, Chairman and CEO of the MOL Group.

“We have enjoyed a strong and long-standing partnership with MOL in Azerbaijan. Strengthened by our joint investments, this collaboration has inspired us to pursue further opportunities together. With this confidence, we took our first concrete step by signing a joint exploration agreement with MOL at two sites in Hungary. Looking ahead, we plan to leverage this positive momentum to launch new joint ventures with MOL in various regions. On this occasion, I would like to express our sincere gratitude to Mr. Zsolt Hernádi, CEO of MOL, and the entire MOL team for their valuable contributions to this tender” – said Ahmet Türkoğlu, Chairman and CEO of Turkish Petroleum.

MOL Group and Turkish Petroleum have already been cooperating in hydrocarbons exploration and production projects as joint venture partners in Azerbaijan in the Azeri-Chirag-Deepwater Gunashli (ACG) field since 2020, as well as in Russia in the Baitugan field since 2014.

MOL is the largest hydrocarbon producer in Hungary, producing at almost 1300 oil and natural gas wells. In 2024, MOL provided 47% of crude oil (almost 600.000 tonnes) and nearly 90% of natural gas (nearly 1.5 billion m3) of domestic production. Hungary is the most significant in the MOL Group's oil and gas production portfolio, currently accounting for approximately 39% of total production.

Due to the extraordinary efforts MOL invests in the Hungarian exploration, the company recently reached a 5-year high production record. In 2022, MOL discovered the Vecsés oilfield near the capital, where 3 wells are already producing. Just recently, MOL discovered the Somogysámson oilfield in South-West Hungary. Over the past years, 24 successful shallow gas wells were drilled, and the company acquired gas fields and related infrastructure in East-Hungary that covers an area of approximately 1000 km2, with 29 hydrocarbon production wells and further exploration potential.

As part of MOL Group's international portfolio, the company has oil and gas exploration and production assets in nine countries, with production in eight countries. In 2024, it produced an average of 93.8 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day. To maintain the updated SHAPE TOMORROW strategy target of at least 90 thousand barrels per day production level over the next 5 years, MOL aims to further strengthen its international portfolio and seeks additional strategic partnerships. Consequently, it has recently signed cooperation agreements with the national oil company of Kazakhstan (KazMunayGas), the national oil company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), and the national oil company of Türkiye (Turkish Petroleum).

About MOL Group

MOL Group is an international, integrated oil, gas, petrochemicals and consumer retail company, headquartered in Budapest, Hungary. It is active in over 30 countries with a dynamic international workforce of 25,000 people and a track record of more than 100 years. MOL Group operates three refineries and two petrochemical plants under integrated supply chain-management in Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia, and owns a network of almost 2400 service stations across 10 countries in Central & South-Eastern Europe. MOL’s exploration and production activities are supported by more than 85 years’ experience in the field of hydrocarbons and 30 years in the injection of CO2. At the moment, there are production activities in 8 countries and exploration assets in 9 countries. MOL is committed to transform its traditional fossil-fuel-based operations into a low-carbon, sustainable business model and aspires to become net carbon neutral by 2050 while shaping the low-carbon circular economy in Central and Eastern Europe.