MOSCOW, December 4 (RIA Novosti) - MOL Hungarian Oil and Gas Plc plans to buy an unspecified oil asset in Russia as part of its business expansion strategy, a company news release said Monday.
Hungary's top oil and gas producer said it had bid Friday for a 100% stake in a company based in a major Russian oil-rich region with developed pipeline infrastructure.
MOL did not specify the acquisition target or financial details but said the company owned an oil field, which currently yields 1,800 bbl/d and has proven reserves of 60 million bbl of oil equivalent.
The Hungarian company said the Russian asset had vast potential and would fit well into the company's business strategy of expanding into Russia's oil and gas sector.
On October 10, MOL said in a news release that it had signed a sale and purchase agreement with Russia's North-West Oil Group (NWOG) to acquire 100% in the NWOG-MOL project company for $15.5 million.
The company said NWOG had a license to develop the Surgut-7 bloc in West Siberia. The exploration area covers 330 sq. km. and is surrounded by several large oil fields with estimated oil reserves of 15-75 million metric tons (551 million bbl).
In September, Russian media quoted MOL's senior vice president and director for Russia, Sandor Fasimon, as saying the company had also negotiated assets in East Siberia.
MOL was set up in 1991 on the basis of Hungary's national oil and gas trust OKGT. It specializes in oil and gas prospecting, production, transportation, storage, distribution and sales, runs over 3,232 miles of trunk gas pipelines and owns more than 440 gasoline stations in Hungary, Slovakia and Romania.
