Azerbaijan's State Oil Company, Hungary's MOL Group discuss expanding cooperation in oil and gas production

BAKU. May 13 (Interfax) - The State Oil Company of the Azerbaijani Republic (SOCAR) and Hungary's MOL Group have discussed joint projects in oil and gas production in Azerbaijan, SOCAR President Rovshan Najaf said on the LinkedIn social network.

"During OGU2026 [the Oil and Gas of Uzbekistan 2026 conference] in Tashkent, we held a meeting with Zsombor Marton, executive vice president for exploration and production at MOL Group. The meeting highlighted the strong and longstanding partnership between SOCAR and MOL Group, while also focusing on prospects for expanding cooperation in areas of mutual interest," Najaf said.

An exchange of views took place with the Hungarian company on joint projects in Azerbaijan's upstream sector (oil and gas production), including ongoing work under the exploration and production agreement on the Shamakhi-Gobustan onshore block, he said.

"The meeting also covered opportunities for further cooperation aimed at supporting energy security and sustainable development through efficient energy solutions," Najaf said.

As reported, MOL's daily oil production in Azerbaijan amounted to 13,400 barrels of oil equivalent (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% share in the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli block development project in Azerbaijan, as well as an 8.9% share in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline project. In December 2025, SOCAR and MOL Hungarian Oil and Gas signed exploration, development and production sharing agreements for the Shamakhi-Gobustan onshore block. MOL acts as the project operator with a 65% equity stake, while SOCAR received 35%.

MOL conducts production activities in eight countries.