Pressemitteilungen

Somogysámson, 18 March 2025 – MOL has discovered a new oil field near Somogysámson in Western Hungary. During the exploration drilling carried out in December last year, oil was found at a depth of 1,250 meters. According to the results, the well located in the Somogysámson-oilfield is able to produce 1,200 barrels per day.

Zsombor Marton, Executive Vice President of MOL Group Exploration and Production said: "I am very proud to announce that, after the exploration successes of the recent years, we have once again discovered a new oil field – this time in the Transdanubian region, where we last discovered oil more than a decade ago. The fact that we achieved this success in the concession belonging to Bázakerettye, which has an almost 100-year oil industry tradition, is clear evidence that there is still potential in hydrocarbon exploration in Hungary. We are discovering previously unknown hydrocarbon deposits one after the other and further strengthening the country's security of supply: with the oil deposits in Vecsés and Tura and the natural gas fields in Eastern Hungary, we have reached a 5-year peak in domestic production.”

“As a landlocked country, our oil supply is largely via pipelines and intermediaries. It is clear that we need to reduce Hungary's import dependence by all means available. We will continue our investments and will continue to do our utmost to maintain and, if possible, increase production” - Dr. György Bacsa, COO of MOL Hungary added.

The drilling of the new well in the Somogysámson oilfield, called Som-8, began on November 25, 2024, and was completed at Christmas after 33 days. Based on the well tests carried out until March 2025, the well is currently proven to be capable of producing 1,200 barrels of oil per day, which is transported by truck to the Danube Refinery in Százhalombatta.

This new discovery will also help meet the country's energy needs. MOL has ambitious investment plans in Exploration and Production. Over the next five years, the company plans to invest approximately HUF 150 billion in oil and natural gas production in Hungary.

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 thousand 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.

The oil production of the Som-8 well is around 1200 barrels per day, accounting for about 1% of MOL Group's total hydrocarbon production.

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, the company 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).

Budapest/Pozsony, 25 February 2025 – MOL Group has taken another step towards developing hydrogen mobility. A hydrogen filling station in Bratislava, which also supplies the local public transport company's hydrogen buses with hydrogen produced at the Slovnaft refinery, has been upgraded and helps to refuel buses and trucks more efficiently. The upgrade has extended the range of the buses by 40%, which significantly contributes to the more efficient operation of public transport in Bratislava. MOL Group’s strategic goal is to make the operations of industrial players and the mobility sector more sustainable with alternative energy sources, such as hydrogen.

The filling station, located at the Bratislava refinery and opened in 2022, is operated by Messer Slovnaft s.r.o., a joint venture between Messer Tatragas and Slovnaft. The cooperation is crucial for the development of the Slovak hydrogen infrastructure. The station has been upgraded to provide a higher pressure of 350 bar for refueling hydrogen buses and trucks, ensuring a longer range. The development reduces the need for frequent refuelling, optimising operations and increasing the overall efficiency of hydrogen buses and trucks.

Hydrogen as a fuel is a sustainable alternative primarily for freight, cargo and public transport. Hydrogen vehicles have a number of advantages, including zero emissions, quiet operation, fast refuelling and longer range compared to battery electric vehicles.

“Hydrogen can be a significant energy carrier in the future, which can also play a key role in the green transition. At MOL Group, our strategic goal is to support the smart green transition in an innovative way, for example by making the mobility sector more sustainable with alternative energy sources. This is served by the current modernization of the Bratislava filling station, as well as our investments such as our green hydrogen plant already launched in Százhalombatta, and a similar facility planned in Bratislava. Besides making our own industrial operations more sustainable, this will pave the way for the decarbonization of public transport in Bratislava,” said Ádám Horváth, New and Sustainable Businesses Vice President of MOL Group.

Last year, the largest green hydrogen plant in Central and Eastern Europe to date, with a capacity of 10 megawatts, began operating at MOL Group’s Százhalombatta refinery. The facility uses electricity from renewable sources to break down water into hydrogen and oxygen, while no polluting by-products are generated. This reduces the Danube Refinery's carbon dioxide emissions by 25 000 tonnes. The 1,600 tonnes of clean, carbon-neutral green hydrogen produced here per year is used for fuel production and according to MOL Group’s plans, soon we can directly meet it in the mobility sector. After the Százhalombatta plant, preparations are underway to build similar electrolysis units in Bratislava and Rijeka.

Related content:
Green Hydrogen at MOL Group: The sustainable way forward – video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tWH4cgArHE

26 February 2025, Brussels: One year after the launch of the Antwerp Declaration, 400 business leaders have reunited in Antwerp to discuss the just published Clean Industrial Deal with Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen. Ahead of the European Council meeting in March, industry is now calling on EU Heads of State to take urgent action across all EU Member States without any delay.

“We appreciate the Commission President taking the time to join us today in Antwerp to present the Clean Industrial Deal. Nine out of ten calls of the Antwerp Declaration have been addressed. We need to transform Europe’s ambition ‘to be’, into a determination ‘to do’. Every day, Europe is falling behind its goals, and is losing quality jobs for our current and future generations of workers. In the turbulent times we are in we need bold action from the European Leadership.” said Ilham Kadri, President of ICCA and Cefic, and CEO of Syensqo.

MOL Group also signed the declaration and joined the call, with Gabriel Szabó, Executive Vice President of Downstream, representing the company in Antwerp.

"Europe will find itself in an increasingly difficult situation if it does not take real steps to become more competitive. We are running out of time, and this hesitation is putting jobs and economic performance at risk. We need an environment that stimulates investment and in this way steers Europe back to the path of growth. " said Gabriel Szabó, Executive Vice President of Downstream, MOL Group.

Europe’s industries are facing historical challenges: declining demand, stalled investments, reduced capacity, and EU gas prices at 4-5 times higher than its competitors. Between 2023 and 2024, Europe’s manufacturing output - a sector employing over 31 million people - dropped another 2.6%. While for the chemicals industry - the industry of industries - Cefic’s recent study emphasised the severity, with over 11 million tons of capacity announced to be closed between 2023-2024, affecting 21 major sites.

To overcome these challenges, back in February 2024, 73 business leaders presented the Antwerp Declaration to Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen and former Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo. The Antwerp Declaration lays out 10 concrete actions to restore the business case for investments, to implement Europe’s sustainability ambitions and safeguard quality jobs in Europe. It is now signed by over 1300 signatories.

“Reading the Clean Industrial Deal, we need the Commission to focus, prioritise the three key actions that improve our situation already this year and put all power, boldness and bravery in the European Commission behind these. And give us a realistic planning for the remaining actions. When we say actions, we mean action, not strategies, policies or plans. Leave no stone unturned and break all taboos. We need the situation to change.” Marco Mensink, Cefic Director General.

Cefic calls on all new EU initiatives to be evaluated against the following criteria: Do they keep Europe safe and independent, reduce energy prices, ease the administrative burden on companies, attract investments to Europe, create markets for sustainable products, and safeguard quality jobs in Europe? If the answer to any of these questions is no, EU policymakers should reconsider and revise the proposal accordingly.

The Antwerp Declaration remains an urgent call to revitalise Europe’s industrial landscape. Europe’s industries stand ready to do their part and continue supporting policymakers in building a competitive, resilient and sustainable future in Europe amid shifting geopolitics.

• MOL Group’s profit before tax (PBT) down by 23% year on year almost entirely due to external environmental impacts
• Downstream performed in line with strategic goals, with a slight decline compared to 2023, mainly due to the continued downtrend in refining margins.
• Upstream results were supported by both the price environment and production volumes
• Consumer Services performance was driven by non-fuel expansion
• Circular Economy was loss-making in 2024, primarily due to the high operating costs of the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS)
• MOL sets 2025 profit before tax guidance at around USD 1.6 billion

Budapest, 21 February 2025 – Today, MOL Group disclosed its financial results for the full year as well as the fourth quarter of 2024. The normalization continued in the industry, which led to 23% decrease in profit before tax in 2024. Full-year 2024 organic investments increased by 16%, primarily due to higher sustain-type CAPEX in a turnaround-heavy year in Downstream.

Chairman and CEO Zsolt Hernádi commented the results: 2024 was not an easy year for MOL Group. The Ukrainian-Russian war still imposed challenges which we had to tackle in order to guarantee the security of supply in our countries. Also, regulations, Government takes were still shaping the landscape of our business. On top of this, the uncertainties around the whole oil industry’s future have been still in the air. All of these put their marks on our profitability. Despite all this we managed to maintain a stable operation – of which I am very proud. Although last year the external environment limited our growth potential, we continued to selectively expand our portfolio, made progress with our strategic investments and took important steps to further strengthen the security of supply in the region.

In addition to continuing our crude diversification project, we inaugurated the region's largest green hydrogen plant and the EUR 1.3 billion polyol complex in Tiszaújváros, and we have also paved the way for the expansion of our own green electricity production. We continue to build solar power capabilities in Hungary and we further strengthened the international network of our Upstream business through cooperation agreements. I am especially proud of the new discovery and record production in Vecsés. The outstanding performance of our consumer services just underlines that we put a right bet on transforming ourselves into a more retail oriented company.

For this year we expect that the uncertainties might change but will not disappear. The forced agenda of the transition of the oil industry creates a serious competition issue for Europe which we must tackle. Also security of supply is still a priority for all players of the industry and without diverse energy procurement, affordable energy and strong industry, Europe might find itself in an increasingly difficult situation. The homework for us is clear: focus on our efficiency by keeping costs under control, continue the value generation in our core businesses and do start new things that make business sense and more profit.

Downstream performed in line with strategic goals in 2024, with a slight decline compared to 2023, mainly due to the continued downtrend in refining margins and heavy turnarounds throughout the first nine months of the year. Looking at the fourth quarter, R&M volume growth was strong as there were no major turnarounds in the last quarter, but lower refining margins weighed on EBITDA. Petrochemicals EBITDA remained in the red, impacted by lower output due to turnarounds in Bratislava, while margins remained under pressure from both feedstock costs and weak demand. Despite lower fuel market demand in key markets such as Hungary and Croatia, full year fuel product sales increased by 5%.

Upstream continued to contribute significantly to group performance, with Q4 results supported by both the price environment and production volumes. Oil prices retreated by approximately 7% quarter-on-quarter, but volatility in European natural gas markets and the ACG cargo effect resulted in an overall positive price contribution. Thanks to MOL’s efforts to raise production levels in Hungary, the 2024 production quotas set in contracts with authorities were met in Hungary, with no extra royalty charges expected. Cash generation remained robust while total hydrocarbon production reached 94.8 mboepd in Q4 2024 and the production guidance of 92-94 mboepd for the year was also met at 93.8 mboepd.

Consumer Services performance was driven by non-fuel expansion, as organic growth continued despite a reduced number of fuel stations. Fuel sales made a small positive contribution to results, though macroeconomic factors weighed on overall growth. Fuel margins remained under pressure due to the economic slowdown, partially offset by increasing consumer demand for premium fuel products. The network size remained unchanged from September at 2,335 sites by the end of 2024, but declined by 4% year-on-year due to remedy fuel station sales following the Polish and Slovenian transactions. Non-fuel margins continued to be the primary driver of growth, with the Fresh Corner rollout reaching 1,329 units by the end of 2024, up 3% quarter-on-quarter and 6% year-on-year.

Circular Economy Services, the waste management arm of the Group, remained loss-making on an EBITDA level in 2024, primarily due to the high operating costs of the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS). The DRS ramp-up continued in Q4, reaching 1 billion returned bottles by January 2025. Around 3,700 Reverse Vending Machines were installed across retail networks, complemented by 1,500 contracted manual takeback points. System penetration stabilized, with approximately 6 million beverage containers returned daily in Q4. Other key investment projects also made progress: the rollout of the bio kitchen waste collection system continued, with all 200,000 ordered containers delivered by year-end. The development of textile waste collection infrastructure advanced, with around 1,100 containers installed. Following the launch of the first company-owned waste yard in Esztergom in May, preparations for an additional nine facilities are underway.

The Gas Midstream segment performance remained stable year-on-year, supported by higher transmission activities but impacted adversely by FX effects. Despite strong demand for transmission services and cross-border capacities, regulated income declined slightly as volume-driven tariffs adjusted to easing macroeconomic conditions. Meanwhile, gas prices and consumption costs were lower year on year, but inflation and FX pushed up other OPEX elements.

Budapest/Bratislava, 13 February 2025 - MOL Group has produced a diesel fuel containing Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO), and Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) at the refinery of Slovnaft in Bratislava. The quality of the products has been verified by radioisotope analysis by the independent specialist laboratory of Isotoptech Zrt. The successful production test confirms that MOL Group is technologically ready for the production of alternative synthetic fuels, which is part of the company’s long-term SHAPE TOMORROW strategy.

Biodiesel HVO of vegetable origin was successfully produced at the Bratislava Refinery. HVO was produced using oil from cashew nut shells and the biocomponent produced this way was processed together with crude oil. MOL Group has been using the so-called co-processing at the Danube Refinery in Százhalombatta for years: the process reduces the emissions of traditional fuels by mixing plant residues, as the bio and fossil components are processed simultaneously directly during production. The production test was successful: the diesel product was analysed by the Hungarian Isotoptech Zrt laboratory which confirmed that it contains the required ratio of HVO.

At the same time, MOL Group’s Bratislava Refinery conducted another production test, which produced a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) by co-processing as well. In this case, the company also created value from waste: it processed partially refined cooking oil with the traditional raw material. The test proved that the Bratislava Refinery’s production unit used for the production of standard aviation kerosene is also suitable for producing sustainable aviation fuel.

„We are technologically ready to produce biodiesel of vegetable origin as well as sustainable aviation fuel. This could open a new chapter in the sustainable efforts of MOL Group: we offer our customers an increasing variety and quantity of fuels, thus contributing to the smart energy transition as well,’ said Csaba Zsótér, Senior Vice President, Fuels at MOL Group.

"The fact that Slovnaft has passed this test is a confirmation of our position as an important player in the CEE region. The competence in chemical production that we have acquired over the long history of the company must be preserved and developed in line with where the company is moving and what kind of future we want to create," said Gabriel Szabó, Vice Chairman of the Slovnaft Management Board and Vice President Downstream of the MOL Group.

Currently, very few refineries in the world produce SAF. Slovnaft has thus become one of the first refineries capable of producing aviation fuel meeting the quality requirements set for SAF. In the context of EU environmental targets, SAF is to account for 2% of total aviation fuel consumption from this year, with this percentage gradually increasing each year. The share of SAF is to increase to 6% by 2030, 20% by 2035, and 70% by 2050. These requirements will apply to all flights originating in the EU, regardless of destination. Slovnaft, as well as the MOL Group, also cooperate with the Faculty of Aeronautics of the Technical University of Košice in the testing of SAF aviation fuel.