MOL has signed key terms for an exploration, development and production sharing agreement with Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR for the Shamakhi-Gobustan region of the country. Under the agreement signed at the Baku Energy Forum, MOL would operate the project with a 65% stake, while SOCAR would hold 35%.

The deal builds on a MoU signed last September to evaluate cooperation opportunities in hydrocarbon exploration in the region.

The finalization of a comprehensive exploration, development and production sharing agreement remains subject to further negotiations and regulatory approvals.

MOL Group chairman and CEO Zsolt Hernádi said the agreement reinforces the company's commitment to deeper cooperation with SOCAR as MOL celebrates its fifth anniversary in Azerbaijan. He noted the project would contribute to Central Europe's energy security and stability,

MOL entered Azerbaijan in 2020 by acquiring a 9.57% stake in one of the world's largest oilfields in the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) and an 8.9% stake in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. These assets represent 14% of MOL's total production and 25% of total reserves as of 2024.

The Azeri interest gives MOL flexibility to decide whether to sell its share of the ACG crude oil to a third party or to sell it within the group. Despite being a minority shareholder, MOL actively contributes to the development of ACG with its eight decades of reservoir management and production optimisation knowledge.

The BTC pipeline plays a key role in supplying MOL’s refineries in Bratislava and Rijeka. To date, 15mn barrels of crude have been transported from the ACG field through the pipeline and by cargo ships, MOL said.