MOL signs agreement for onshore exploration opportunity in Azerbaijan

MOL Group and the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) have signed key terms for an exploration, development, and production sharing agreement for a new onshore area covering the Shamakhi-Gobustan regions of Azerbaijan, the Hungarian oil and gas company said on the Budapest Stock Exchange on Tuesday.

MOL and SOCAR signed an MoU last September to evaluate further potential cooperation opportunities for hydrocarbon exploration in the Shamakhi-Gobustan region.

“I’m positive that the Shamakhi-Gobustan joint exploration project will not just be a great addition to our international production portfolio but it will be an important puzzle to securing Central-Europe’s energy supply”, MOL Group Chairman and CEO Zsolt Hernádi said after signing Tuesday’s agreement.

“We will have the flexibility to decide to sell or to ship the oil produced to MOL Group’s core region to contribute to the security of energy supply”, he added.

According to the companies’ intention, MOL would be the operator and 65pc shareholder in the project and SOCAR would hold 35pc.