MOL acquired 100% stake in Matjushkinskaya Vertikal LLC

MOL Hungarian Oil and Gas Public Limited Company purchased 100% of Matjushkinskaya Vertikal LLC in Russia from Russian private individuals. After the receipt of the approval of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of Russia, the transaction was closed on April 24, 2007.

Matjushkinskaya Vertikal LLC owns the license to the subsoil under the Matjushkinskiy block in the Tomsk region of Western Siberia, one of Russia’s main oil producing provinces. The block covers 3231 km² (fifteen times bigger than the area of ZMB and ten times bigger than the Surgut-7 block), the infrastructural provision of the area is good, the block is close to the main Transneft pipeline. Beyond the small proven and probable reserves and current production (6 million barrels of proven and probable reserves according to the Miller&Lents reserve auditor firm, with current daily production of 550-600 barrels), the asset has significant exploration potential. The exploration license is valid until 2010 with a work program commitment of 50 km 2D seismic acquisition and drilling of three exploration wells, while the production license expires in 2029.

The purchase of Matjushkinskaya Vertikal LLC is an excellent fit with MOL’s strategy, which is focused on acquisition of further exploration and production projects in Russia.