Hungarian oil refinery blaze: MOL addresses allegations of foreign interference
Authorities are still investigating the cause of the fire at MOL’s Százhalombatta refinery, while online speculation already points to possible sabotage. This suspicion arose partly because, shortly before the incident in Hungary, a massive explosion shook the Ploiești refinery in Romania—one of the country’s largest plants. At a MOL press conference, the company addressed these concerns and provided further details about what might have happened.
Was the oil refinery targeted in an attack?
Miklós Szánthó, head of the Centre for Fundamental Rights, hinted in a Facebook post that the refinery might have been deliberately targeted in an attack.
The refinery is restarting
Hungary’s fuel supply remains secure despite the fire at MOL’s Danube refinery in Százhalombatta, MOL Hungary’s spokesperson declared during a press briefing in Budapest on Tuesday. She added that the disaster management authorities detected no air pollution levels exceeding health limits in the affected area.
Piroska Bakos recalled that the fire broke out late on Monday night in the AV3 distillation unit of the Danube refinery. Firefighters managed to contain the blaze, no injuries were reported, and investigations into the cause of the fire are underway. While assessing the damage, MOL is gradually restarting the refinery units unaffected by the incident.
No external interference detected
Krisztián Pulay, CEO of the MOL Group, emphasised that there is no evidence suggesting that any external interference caused the fire. He also firmly denied any connection between the explosion at the Romanian oil refinery and the blaze at the Danube refinery.
- Massive explosion, fire, and black smoke at oil refinery near Budapest – videos and photos
Answering journalists’ questions, Pulay explained that the fire started in one of the refinery’s three distillation units. This is where crude oil first enters the refining process and is separated into different components according to their boiling points, which are then sent to various other units for further processing.
No explosion, just fire
The refinery’s operational group consists of 120 employees, with around 20 working per shift. Pulay stressed that no one was injured before, during, or after the fire-fighting efforts. He categorically refuted media reports claiming that an explosion had occurred at the plant. Instead, he explained, emergency procedures involve releasing gases through flares, which create loud noises. According to Pulay, this sound may have been mistaken for an explosion by people nearby.
He added that they currently believe the fire will not disrupt the supply chain, although a definitive statement will follow after a detailed damage assessment.
Finally, he stressed that although the affected unit is important, it is not critical to the refinery as a whole. Following the fire and the emergency shutdown, company employees have already begun restarting operations at the refinery.
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