MOL finds strategic partner in Kazakhstan

The agreement builds on a successful cooperation dating back to 2004, when MOL, KMG and China’s Sinopec began producing gas together in the Rozhkovsky field. The agreement signed on Wednesday aims to take the relationship to a new level and open up new opportunities in the areas of exploration, hydrocarbon production, technology transfer, oil supply and petrochemicals.

Kazakh oil for Europe

The main objective of the agreement is to expand the existing research and production co-operation as well as the application of MOL technologies in Kazakhstan. This should increase the yield from nearly depleted fields and promote the sale of the extracted hydrocarbons in Europe. The parties are also looking for opportunities for co-operation in petrochemicals and the import of Kazakh oil to Europe and Hungary. The agreement was signed by Zsolt Hernádi, CEO of MOL Group, and Ashkhat Qassenov, CEO of KMG, during the Kazakh President’s visit to Hungary. The Hungarian oil company has already invested almost USD 200 million in the Kazakh oil sector, making it the largest Hungarian investor in the country.

Co-operation between the eastern oil companies

The Roschkovsky field is operated by an international joint venture, 50% of which is owned by KMG, 27.5% by the MOL Group and 22.5% by the Chinese FIOC. The field was discovered in 2008 and five of the nine wells have since been successfully brought into production. Gas production started in December 2023, since then the daily gross production volume has increased to 1.35 million m3, which corresponds to 4.43 thousand barrels per day of the MOL Group’s production. The agreement with KMG joins the cooperation agreements that MOL signed this year with the Azerbaijani oil company SOCAR and the Turkish oil company TPAO.