MOL acquires more Norwegian licences

Hungarian oil and gas company MOL has won three more offshore exploration and production licences in Norway, raising the total it owns in the country to 20, Foreign Minister Péter Sziijártó said after talks in Tromso, Norway, on Tuesday.

MOL will spend 500 million US dollars on exploration in the coming five years, strengthening its presence in Norway, Szijjártó said. The newly acquired licences contain reserves of more than 750 million barrels of oil equivalent, doubling MOL’s global exploration portfolio, he added.

The minister said Norway could also play an important role in securing Hungary’s future gas supply.

“Back in 2016, Hungary signed an agreement with Statoil. We’d like to be able to count on Norwegian gas as another source of Hungary’s energy diversification in the future as well,” Szijjártó said.

“This means that central Europe’ infrastructure needs to be able to receive and utilise liquefied natural gas.”

Szijjártó said his Norwegian negotiating partners were “entirely open” to the possibility of supplying liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Hungary either through an expanded LNG terminal in Poland or a new LNG terminal in Croatia.

Szijjártó held talks with his Norwegian counterpart, Ine Marie Eriksen Soreide. The two officials agreed that Hungary and Norway would support each other’s aspirations in the United Nations. Under that agreement, Hungary will support Norway’s bid for non-permanent membership on the UN Security Council in 2021-22.

At the invitation of his Norwegian counterpart and Minister of Petroleum and Energy Terje Soviknes, Szijjártó also gave a lecture at an international conference on sustainable development in the Arctic.

Although the melting of the Arctic ice cap could create a new trade route, global warming, melting Arctic ice and rising sea levels are a concern for the entire world, Szijjártó said at the conference.

Source: MTI