MOL Group and SOCAR have signed a comprehensive exploration, development and production sharing agreement for an onshore area in the Shamakhi-Gobustan region of Azerbaijan. MOL Group as operator has 65% stake and SOCAR has 35% in the joint exploration project.
Capitalising on the alignment reached in June 2025 on key terms for the joint hydrocarbon exploration in the Shamakhi-Gobustan region in Azerbaijan, this fully termed agreement marks a significant milestone in MOL’s strategic partnership with SOCAR, which is built on previous successful cooperation.
The agreement was signed by MOL Group Chairman and CEO Zsolt Hernádi and SOCAR President Rovshan Najaf.
Zsolt Hernádi, Chairman and CEO of the MOL Group said: “The final agreement of our latest cooperation with SOCAR marks another major step in our shared commitment to unlocking new potential and expanding our excellent collaboration in Azerbaijan’s upstream sector.
“The Shamakhi-Gobustan joint exploration project adds a great opportunity to our international upstream portfolio, and as the operator, we are proud to build on MOL Group’s extensive experience in exploration and production. Strong foundations have already been laid through the offshore ACG project in Azerbaijan, which is an important pillar of our international operations, playing a vital role in Central Europe’s energy security and providing us flexibility in crude oil sourcing and refining.
“I am very much looking forward to the next chapter of our cooperation in Azerbaijan with our esteemed partner SOCAR, which will further strengthen our region’s energy supply security.”
The agreement reaffirms MOL Group’s long-term strategic presence in the Caspian region and partnership with SOCAR in the development of Azerbaijan’s hydrocarbon resources. As part of the next steps in the exploration project, a seismic survey is scheduled to begin in early 2026, followed by the exploration drilling at a later stage.
MOL Group entered Azerbaijan in 2020 by acquiring a 9.57% stake in the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli one of the world’s largest oil fields, and an effective 8.9% stake in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline that transports the crude to the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. ACG represents 14% of MOL’s total production and 25% of total reserves as of 2024. Despite being a minority shareholder, MOL actively contributes to the development of ACG with its 8 decades-long reservoir management and production optimization knowledge.
The BTC pipeline plays an important role in MOL’s supply of oil to MOL Group’s refineries in Central and Eastern Europe. So far, almost 18 million barrels of MOL’s crude oil was transported from the ACG field through the BTC pipeline and cargo ships to MOL Group’s refineries, including Slovnaft’s Bratislava and INA’s Rijeka Refinery.
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