Hungary's MOL increases oil production in Azerbaijan 6% in Q1 to 13,100 bpd

BAKU. May 12 (Interfax) - The daily oil production of the Hungarian company MOL in Azerbaijan amounted to 13,100 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) in Q1 2026, up 5.6% year-on-year, the company said in its quarterly report.

According to MOL, the company's total average daily hydrocarbon production from projects worldwide (in Hungary, Croatia, Iraqi Kurdistan, Pakistan, Azerbaijan and others) reached 95,500 boe in 2025, up 1.7%. Azerbaijan therefore accounted for 13.7% of the company's total production in January-March 2026.

MOL's capital expenditures on hydrocarbon exploration and production projects in Azerbaijan in Q1 2026 increased 43.9% to $34.7 million. This included $32.4 million directed to development, $1.2 million to exploration and $1.1 million in other expenses.

Capital investment in projects in Azerbaijan accounted for 35% of the company's total investment. Azerbaijan therefore ranked first in terms of MOL's capital investment in January-March 2026. In second place was Croatia ($28 million), and Hungary was in third place ($24.1 million).

It was previously reported that for 2026, MOL forecasts average daily production in the range of 95,000-97,000 barrels, compared to a forecast of 92,000-94,000 barrels for 2025.

The annual forecast for 2026 is set at 95,000-97,000 boe per day, subject to maintaining high efficiency in mitigating a decline in natural production in Central and Eastern European countries, gradual organic expansion primarily in fields in Iraq and Kazakhstan, as well as stabilizing production at other assets in the international portfolio, the report said.

As reported, MOL's daily oil production in Azerbaijan amounted to 13,400 boe in 2025, up 5.5% compared to the previous year. At the same time, Azerbaijan accounted for 14.1% of the company's total production in 2025.

Currently, MOL has a 9.57% stake in the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli block development project and an 8.9% stake in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline project in Azerbaijan. In December 2025, the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijani Republic (SOCAR) and MOL Hungarian Oil and Gas signed agreements on exploration, development and production sharing at the onshore Shamakhi-Gobustan area. MOL acts as the project operator with a 65% stake, while SOCAR received 35%.

The company conducts production activities in eight countries.