MOL to focus more on diversifying its business in future, says Hernadi

Budapest (MTI) – MOL’s new butadiene plant in Tiszaujvaros, in eastern Hungary, and the synthetic rubber plant under construction are part of a plan to diversify the company’s products and expand its retail operations in the region, MOL chairman-CEO Zsolt Hernadi said in an interview to MTI on Friday.

Growth opportunities centred around petrol and diesel trade are limited, he noted. But MOL refineries produce 50 other products used in its chemical plants and sold in more than 40 countries, he added.

In the downstream industry PKN Orlen, OMV and MOL have emerged as dominant actors, but further market concentration would lead to competition concerns, he said.

Performance of the upstream segment in Pakistan is MOL’s biggest recent success while write-downs in Syria were its biggest financial loss, he noted.

Due to low oil prices, MOL is recalculating the profitability of every segment of its portfolio. But its financial background is solid enough for the company to avoid having to sell any assets, he said. MOL is still spending large amounts of capital on exploration and they will only consider selling licences where there are serious doubts.

Hernadi talked about the future of MOL’s stake in Croatian oil and gas company INA, saying MOL is not in a position to buy the Croatian government’s share in INA either in part or the whole stake until the government creates an investor-friendly environment and strives for cooperation with INA. He also noted that several parties had expressed interest in buying MOL’s stake; the latest offer was made in the spring.

Photo: MTI

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters