BUDAPEST (Portfolio.hu) – Hungarian oil and gas group MOL has on Thursday successfully closed a previously announced deal with JSC Kazmunaigas Exploration and Production (KMG EP) for the acquisition of 49% of shares in JSC Karpovskiy Severniy, holder of the North Karpovsky exploration license in Kazakhstan, the company announced in a statement on the website of the Budapest Stock Exchange (BSE) on Friday.

The Hungarian Oil & Gas Company Plc (MOL Rt.) was founded in 1991, and that alone represents a milestone in the history of the Hungarian petroleum industry. It is not only a company that embraces the entire Hungarian petroleum industry, but one that has grown into one of the largest multinational corporations in Central Europe.

The signing of the Share Purchase Agreement was notified on 19 July 2012, pending were the consent of the Ministry of Oil and Gas in Kazakhstan, the waiver of state priority right and the approval of the Kazakh and the EU antimonopoly bodies, which were all duly cleared.

The exploration program contains drilling of two firm and two optional exploration wells and acquisition of 335 km 2D seismic line. Currently drilling of first well SK-1 is ongoing on turn key basis. The partners are planning to drill the second well SK-2 and test both wells till the end of 2013. Total prospective recoverable resources of hydrocarbons (P50) previously published by KMG EP are 240 MMboe.

KMG EP’s Existing and Expected Exploratoin Projects

(Source: KMG EP)

MOL Group is also present in Kazakhstan participating in the Fedorovsky exploration block located in the neighbourhood of the North Karpovsky block, where the consortium led by MOL achieved a significant gas-condensate discovery in 2008

“We are pleased to announce that we can commence our work in another exploration block in Kazakhstan, in a country where we have already achieved exploration successes in the neighbouring Fedorovsky block,” commented József Molnár, Chief Executive Officer of MOL.

“We hope that the already on-going first and the second exploration wells on the North Karpovsky block will bring us similar successes. We are proud to join hands with KMG EP, a strong, well-known partner from the Fedorovsky joint venture.”