Page 12 - Euroil Week 37 2019

EurOil
NEWS IN BRIEF
EurOil
PM Viktor Orban’s friend to
build new HQ for Hungarian
oil giant
Hungarian oil and gas company MOL has selected Market Epito (Market) as the contractor for the construction of its new headquarters, local media writes on September 12.
The oil company held an invited tender with four companies in the fall and selected the final candidate in a multi-round process. Besides the price, it assessed references, technical alternatives provided and the involvement of local subcontractors.
There are only estimates for the cost
of project running from HUF50bn to HUF100bn (€151-302mn). In an interview last year, chairman-CEO Zsolt Hernadi would only confirm that MOL is to invest HUF800mn between 2019 and 2021, which also includes the MOL campus.
Last year the Hungarian premier came under fire for accepting an invitation from Gararncsi to fly to Videoton games on a luxury private jet, reportedly owned by the businessman, but that was not confirmed.
His company has risen to become one of the largest construction firms in just a few years thanks to a wave of state contracts. Its references include the new headquarters of Magyar Telekom, the construction of the Apollo Tires factory, the reconstruction of monument building in central Budapest
to a five-star hotel and campus for an art university in Budapest.
Market is also involved in the biggest ongoing infrastructure projects in the capital besides Liget Budapest, a new museum quarter in City Park. The new Puskas Arena in Budapest with 70,000 seats will officially open in November.
Over the years, Garancsi steadily climbed the ladder to become one of the richest people in Hungary. His wealth is estimated at HUF66bn, a five-fold increase since 2014.
MOL’s new 28-story, 120-metre headquarters will be the tallest in Hungary and is expected to be completed by 2022. The low-rise podium building will house restaurants, a conference centre, a gym, and other facilities and a public viewing gallery at the top floor for visitors. It will feature a total of 83,000sqm of gross space.
The plans for the first skyscraper in Budapest stirred debates and even Unesco expressed concerns as the building will be visible from the Danube banks, a World Heritage Site. The local government of Budapest gave the green light for the investment last year.
The future workspace for up to 2,500 employees is located on the banks of the Danube in the southern part of Budapest in a new city quarter called BudaPart. Market is also involved in many of the office and residential constructions there.
bne IntelliNews, September 13 2019
ADX, Reabold add funds to Romanian venture
The UK’s Reabold Resources and Australia’s ADX have added funding to their Romanian joint venture operating the Parta gas project.
Reabold has subscribed for 810,811 shares in Danube Petroleum at a price of £1 per share, worth $1mn in total, while ADX has subscribed for 540,541 shares in the venture at the same price, amounting to $670,300 in total. As a result, ADX now holds a 58% stake in Danube, while Reabold has 42%.
These funds will cover the cost of preparing the Iecea Mica-1 appraisal well for testing, approvals and planning work for the Iecea Mica-2 appraisal well and 2D seismic data acquisition, according to ADX.
September 17 2019
MOL starts operating fuel terminal in Serbia
Hungarian oil and gas company MOL has started operating a fuel terminal in Serbia with capacity for 8,000 cubic metres (cm) of diesel and 4,000 cm of petrol, MOL Serbia said on September 17.
The terminal, to be supplied by MOL Group refineries, is located in Sremski Karlovci, not far from Novi Sad. The terminal is MOL’s first in the country. Serbian Minister of Mining and Energy, Aleksandar Antic said the terminal would increase the security of supply and strengthen market competition.
With the investment, MOL Serbia aims to supply the market with fuel directly from the refineries, CEO Ante Aralica said.
“We place great emphasis on meeting the highest environmental standards and no process at the oil terminal is harmful to the environment,” he added.
MOL is the second-largest importer on Serbia’s wholesale fuel market.
The Hungarian oil company operates 1,909 petrol stations in Hungary and nine countries in which has a presence, including 65 in Serbia.
bne IntelliNews, September 18 2019
Poland, Lithuania label
Nord Stream 2 threat to CEE
supply security
Poland and Lithuania perceive the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project to link Russia with Germany as a threat to the energy security of countries in the CEE region, Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on September 17.
Warsaw and Vilnius oppose Nord Stream 2, which the two former Russia satellites say Moscow is likely to use as a geopolitical tool against the region, Ukraine in particular. The bulk of Russian gas exports to Western Europe currently pass through Ukraine. Nord Stream 2 will allow the pumping of gas directly from Russia to Germany.
“Poland and Lithuania have a very similar stance saying that the construction of Nord Stream 2 is s threat to energy security in this part of Europe,” Morawiecki told a press conference while on a visit to neighbouring Lithuania.
Poland recently scored a victory in its quest against Nord Stream 2, after the EU Court of Justice (ECJ) undermined a 2016 decision by the European Commission granting Russia’s Gazprom expanded use of the German Opal pipeline .
The politically charged ruling could restrict Gazprom’s sales in Europe, which have already seen a slump this year, and also weaken the economics of Nord Stream 2.
bne IntelliNews, September 18 2019
Poland hints at stopping
purchases of Russian gas
altogether
Poland sees “no need” to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia and expects to notify Moscow by the end of the year it will not renew its current long-term gas supply contract with Gazprom, a government official said on September 18.
Poland appears determined to wean
itself off Russian gas as soon as possible,
as it has long seen its dependence on the eastern neighbour a liability. Russia’s conflict with Ukraine and Moscow’s anti-Polish interpretation of the history of the Second World War are not helping, either.
Poland finally has the infrastructure to reduce dependence on Russian gas. The country built an LNG terminal in the western town of Swinoujscie. The terminal’s capacity is currently 5bn cubic metres (bcm) but Warsaw
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Week 37 19•September•2019