Hungary’s MOL seeks EU funding as CEO warns Russian oil phase-out could trigger social unrest

Hungarian oil and gas company MOL says it will be technically ready to phase out Russian oil imports by the end of 2027, as it calls for more EU funding to support the transition away from Russian energy. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Speaking to Euronews, MOL Hungary chief executive György Bacsa warned that reducing Hungary’s dependence on Russian crude could drive up energy costs, trigger social unrest and fuel political instability in Hungary and Slovakia, both of which remain heavily reliant on Russian oil. With a new government in Budapest, MOL will seek EU funding for energy diversification for the first time. The shift marks a departure from the Viktor Orbán era, when Hungary remained heavily dependent on Russian oil and opted out of some EU energy initiatives. According to a 2025 IMF study, a complete cut-off of Russian energy supplies could increase Hungary’s energy spending by around 15% by 2030, putting further pressure on its energy security. The European Commission says Russia’s share of EU oil imports has fallen from 27% in 2021 to just 2%. Hungary and Slovakia remain the only EU countries importing significant volumes of Russian crude through the Soviet-era Druzhba pipeline. In Hungary, petrol and diesel prices have risen sharply this year, drawing criticism from opposition parties. “This could really set back those economies, which could result in a political crisis, and the consequences of the political crisis would be unpredictable and could potentially have repercussions on the entire European policy,” Bacsa, who also serves as chief strategic officer for the group, said He declined to provide further details on Russian oil pricing. Urals crude currently trades at around $60 a barrel, approximately 34% below Brent. Bacsa stressed that MOL complies with all EU rules and sanctions and remains committed to diversifying its energy supplies. “In the current crisis, this is no longer a marginal issue where you are simply willing to pay 10 or 20 per cent more for green or non-Russian energy,” he said. MOL seeks EU funding for pipeline expansion Bacsa said restrictions on fossil fuel projects prevent MOL from accessing EU funding to expand the pipeline network needed to diversify supplies and strengthen energy security. Central and Eastern Europe lags behind Western Europe in pipeline infrastructure, he argued. “This disadvantage, this inequality, has to be addressed somewhere. I am in favour of a targeted European programme with targeted European resources for the infrastructural connection of all gas, electricity, and oil and petroleum products.” A spokesperson for the European Commission did not rule out discussing fossil fuel infrastructure projects but stressed that reducing dependence on Russian energy is the European priority. “I do not have a response off the cuff whether we would have funding or what the options would be. But our priority is that our member states do have diversified energy policies so that they would not be receiving oil, gas and LNG from Russia,” Itkonen said. A key part of MOL’s diversification strategy is the Adria pipeline, which runs from Croatia to Hungary and could provide an alternative to the Druzhba route. MOL and Croatia’s state-owned pipeline operator JANAF have been locked in years of disputes over transport capacity, transit fees and the transportation of Russian crude to Hungary and Slovakia. MOL requested the European Commission to mediate a dispute over capacity testing on the Croatian section of the pipeline. “The question of whether the Janaf test will now clear the hurdle is a very important one for us,” Bacsa said. “But even then, we should not give up on our goal of being at the centre of several diversified pipeline systems, rather than being at the end of a single pipeline. Janaf’s earlier decision not to carry out the testing created a specific problem for us.” MOL is also interested in connecting Hungary to the TAL pipeline, which runs from Trieste to Germany. It would also welcome the restart of operations of the Druzhba pipeline from Brody to Odesa in Ukraine. Major political tensions broke out last week between Kyiv and Budapest over the pipeline, which translates as Friendship Pipeline in Russian, as it became inoperable.