MOL Discovers New Oil Field

In a statement posted on its website recently, MOL announced that it and O&GD have discovered a new oil field at a depth of approximately 2,400 meters (7,874 feet) near Galgahévíz, Hungary.

“The Galgahévíz-4 well is capable of producing approximately 1,000 barrels of crude oil per day, which will be processed at the Danube Refinery in Százhalombatta,” MOL said in the statement, which highlighted that “O&GD and MOL share the extracted volume in a 51 percent-49 percent ratio”.

The Galgahévíz-4 well contributes approximately 0.5 percent to MOL Group’s hydrocarbon production, according to the statement.

“The new deposit contributes significantly to Hungary’s security of supply, as domestic production reduces import dependency,” György Bacsa, Managing Director of MOL Hungary, said in the statement.

“Uncertainties surrounding supply routes also confirm that the more pipelines there are in the region, the more certain it is that there will always be enough energy,” Bacsa added.

“However, the best source is always domestic, which is why MOL treats hydrocarbon exploration in Hungary as a priority,” Bacsa went on to state.

Rigzone has contacted O&GD for comment on the discovery of the oil field. At the time of writing, the company has not responded to Rigzone.

The Danube Refinery started its operation in 1965, MOL’s website states, adding that the refinery belongs to MOL Plc. It is one of the largest refineries in the Central and Eastern European region with a refining capacity of 165,000 barrels per day, MOL’s site notes.

In a release posted on its website back in March, MOL said it had 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 (4,101 feet),” the company said in that release.

“According to the results, the well located in the Somogysámson-oilfield is able to produce 1,200 barrels per day,” it 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, MOL noted in that release, which highlighted that well tests were carried out until March.

“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,” Zsombor Marton, Executive Vice President of MOL Group Exploration and Production, said in that release.

“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,” Marton added.

“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 five-year peak in domestic production,” Marton continued.

In that release, MOL said it has ambitious investment plans in exploration and production.

“Over the next five years, the company plans to invest approximately HUF 150 billion ($448.7 million) in oil and natural gas production in Hungary,” the release noted.

MOL is the largest hydrocarbon producer in Hungary, producing at almost 1,300 oil and natural gas wells, the release stated.

“In 2024, MOL provided 47 percent of crude oil (almost 600 thousand tons) and nearly 90 percent of natural gas (nearly 1.5 billion m3) of domestic production,” MOL said in the release.

“Hungary is the most significant in the MOL Group’s oil and gas production portfolio, currently accounting for approximately 39 percent of total production,” it added.

In its first half results statement, which was posted on its website last month, MOL announced that its upstream performance “was influenced by decreasing oil and gas prices, while production remained at high levels”.

MOL Group profit before tax reached $236 million in the second quarter of 2025, MOL noted in that release, highlighting that this figure was down by 56 percent year on year “due to lower operating profits but supported by finance gains”.

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