MOL signs deal to purchase 9.57 pc stake in Azeri oil field

Hungarian oil and gas company MOL on Monday said it has signed an agreement with Chevron Global Ventures and Chevron BTC Pipeline to acquire their non-operated Exploration and Production and mid-stream interests in Azerbaijan.

The agreement covers a 9.57 percent stake in the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) oil field, and a 8.9 percent stake in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline transporting crude to the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. Once completed, the transaction will make MOL the third largest field partner in ACG.

The supergiant ACG field is located in the Caspian Sea and is one of the largest offshore oil fields in the world.

It started production in 1997. Operated by BP and encompassing six offshore production platforms, ACG produced an average 584,000 barrels per day in 2018. The operator estimates total gross recoverable reserves to be approximately 3bn bbl of oil, following the licence extension in September 2017 until 2049.

MOL said in the statement that the share purchases provided an excellent fit in terms of MOL’s current portfolio and the transaction would extend the longevity of the business and enhance the sustainability and competitiveness of MOL’s E an P portfolio.

“This major USD 1.57bn transaction is a significant milestone in building our international E&P portfolio, in one of our core regions, the CIS, where we will team up with world-class partners – commented Zsolt Hernádi, MOL Group’s Chairman-CEO.

The purchase strengthens MOL’s footprint in the CIS region through a non-operated position with world-class partners like BP as operator and SOCAR, the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan as host, it added.

The transaction is subject to government and regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the second quarter of 2020.

Azerbaijan Diaspora Committee visited Hungary

Source: mti