MOL Group (https://molgroup.info/en/)

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MOL GROUP AT A GLANCE

MOL Group is an integrated, international oil & gas company, headquartered in Budapest, Hungary. It is active in over 30 countries with a dynamic international workforce of 26,000 people & a track record of more than 100 years in the industry.

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OWNERSHIP STRUCTURE (%)

MOL Group shares are listed on the Budapest, Luxembourg & Warsaw Stock Exchanges, & its depository reciepts are traded on London‘s International Order Book & OTC in the USA.
Hungarian State = 24.74
Foreign Investors = 22.38
CEZ MH B.V. = 7.35
Oman Oil Limited = 7.00
Domestic institutional investors = 5.64
Unicredit Bank AG = 5.15
OTP Bank Plc. = 4.79
Domestic private investors = 4.78

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COMPANY OVERVIEW

MOL Group is a leading integrated Central & East European oil & gas corporation headquartered in Budapest, Hungary. It has operations in over 40 countries & employs almost 30,000 people worldwide. MOL’s exploration & production activities are supported by more than 75 years’ experience in the hydrocarbon field.
Countries of operation = 40
Number of employees = 27,500
Barrels of oil equivalent produced per year = 36 MILLION
Reserves SPE 2P = 555M BARRELS OF OIL EQUIVALENT
MOL Group Service Stations = 1,750+
Customers buying our fuels every day = 750,000
Refineries = 4
Refineries throughput per day = 417,000 BARRELS
Petrochemical facilities = 2
Petrochemical production = 2,080 KTPA

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OUR HISTORY

2014:
1. MOL Group acquires 208 service stations in the Czech Republic, Slovakia & Romania.
2. MOL extends its upstream portfolio in the Central North Sea with offshore assets in 6 licenses.
3. MOL Group acquires additional 44 service stations in the Czech Republic.
2013:
1. MOL Group enters the North Sea by acquiring offshore assets with 14 licenses.
2. MOL divested its Surgut-7 exploration block & ZMB production field in Russia.
3. 30% stake acquired in Ghauri exploration block in Pakistan.
2012:
1. 100% acquired in PAP Oil & Bohemia Realty Companies in the Czech Republic.
2. 49% acquired in North Karpovsky exploration block in Kazakhstan.
3. Start of exploration in Block 66, Oman.
2011:
1. 100% acquired in TUS Oil Holding in Slovenia.
2010:
1. MOL & its partner Expert Petroleum win licenses for three exploration blocks in Romania.
2. MOL is included in Dow Jones Sustainability World Index as the first & only company from the Region.
2009:
1. 10% stake acquired in Pearl Petroleum Company in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
2. MOL & the Government of Croatia sign the Amendment to the INA Shareholder Agreement.
2008:
1. MOL-CEZ strategic partnership in the power sector.
2. 47.15% increase in stake in INA.
3. 40% stake acquired in Karak exploration block in Pakistan.
4. 40% stake acquired in Ngosso Permit offshore exploration block in Cameroon.
5. 35% stake acquired in the North India exploration block of ONGC in India.
2007:
1. 20% acquired in Shaikan exploration block in Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
2. 100% acquired in IES oil company in Italy.
3. 100% acquired in Tifon in Croatia.
4. Foundation of Hawasina LLC Oman Branch.
5. 100% acquired in Matjushkinskaya Vertikal LLC in Russia.
6. 100% acquired in Akri-Bijeel exploration block in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
2006:
1. 67.5% stake acquired by MOL & INA in Energopetrol in Bosnia & Herzegovina.
2. 100% stake acquired in Margala & Margala-North exploration blocks in Pakistan.
3. 100% stake acquired in BaiTex & in Surgut-7 exploration blocks in Russia.
4. Partial sale of gas business to E.ON Ruhrgas International.
5. Exploration starts in Block 43 in Oman.
2005:
1. 100% stake acquired in MOL Austria.
2. 27.5% stake increase in Fedorovsky exploration block in Kazakhstan.
2004:
1. 98.4% stake acquired in Slovnaft through public offer.
2. MOL is listed on Warsaw Stock Exchange.
3. 22.5% acquired in Fedorovsky exploration block in Kazakhstan.
4. Purchase agreement to acquire Roth Heizole Trading company in Austria.
5. Acquisition of Shell Romania retail network.
2003:
1. 70% stake gain delivers control of Slovnaft.
2. 25% acquisition of INA Foundation of Intermol, Serbia.
2002:
1. Foundation of ZMB – Zapadno Malobalik JV in Russia.
2. TVK is fully consolidated.
2001:
1. 34.5% stake gain delivers control of TVK.
2000:
1. 32.9% stake acquired in TVK.
2. 36.2% stake acquired in Slovnaft.
1999:
1. Foundation of MOL Pakistan.
1998:
1. Foundation of MOL Yemen.
2. Concession acquired in TAL exploration block in Pakistan.
1997:
1. Increase in MOL Group’s retail network in Romania by buying Amoco Oil Holding Company.
1996:
1. The first Slovakian & Ukrainian MOL filling stations open in Ersekujvar (SK), Parkany (SK) & Ungvar (UA).
2. Foundation of MOL Slovenia.
1995:
1. The first Romanian MOL filling station opens in Nagyszalonta.
1991:
1. 1st October – Foundation of MOL Plc.

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ETHICAL BEHAVIOUR

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COMMITMENT

One of the most essential components of MOL Group’s operation is our commitment to the ethical behaviour. In the long term, we can only successfully face the challenges of competitive market environments by accepting the imperatives of moral responsibility, both as individuals and as a Company. We can preserve the Company’s reputation only by irreproachable business conduct and full compliance with the Law. However, the development of the solid ethical foundations of our company is not driven by external forces but is rather the result of MOL Group’s inherent aspirations.
We are proud of our track record: ethical behaviour has a fairly long tradition and history in MOL Group companies -– the ethics culture has taken root by now. The first Code of Ethics was introduced in 1992 and since then it is kept continuously updated based on external and internal changes. In line with integrated business operation, in 2006 we integrated the ethics committees of MOL Nyrt. TVK Nyrt. and Slovnaft a.s. at Group level and set up the MOL Group Ethics Council.
Our responsibility is not limited by corporate boundaries: MOL Group is fully aware of and assumes corporate responsibility for all internal and external stakeholders, and so, we also make conscious efforts to convey our core values to other parties:
*MOL Group is dedicated to practicing fair market behaviour and we make efforts to integrate ethical values and expectations into our whole Supply Chain.
*MOL Group respects fundamental human rights.
*Integrity and transparency are important values for us and fighting against corruption is an essential part of our corporate strategy.
In order to strengthen and preserve the ethical foundations of our business operations and to protect the ethical values we established a comprehensive ethics management system.

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CODE OF ETHICS

The first Group-level Code of Ethics developed for all subsidiaries and member companies was issued in 2007. In the course of drafting the current version that was revised in 2010, we have taken into account international standards and best practices, as well as internal practices and experience in order to improve our ability to meet stakeholder expectations and to strengthen its consistent use in everyday operations.
The Code of Ethics is designed to provide all stakeholders with an overview of the ethical norms that MOL Group considers to be of key importance in the course of its operations within and outside the Group; MOL Group expects stakeholders to live up to and act in compliance with these norms, and render support to the identification and management of ethical issues, and support the process of reporting ethical compliance issues. The Code presents in summary form the ethical norms to be followed, draws attention to potential breaches of the Code, and provides guidance to help identification and management of ethical issues, and explains how to report a breach of the Code of Ethics. All executive officers and employees of MOL Group member companies – namely, MOL Nyrt. as the parent company and all business enterprises controlled by MOL Nyrt. – must act in compliance with the Code. We pay particular attention to ensuring that MOL Group service station employees also become familiar with and apply the Code of Ethics.
At companies owned but not controlled by MOL Nyrt., we make conscious efforts to have our ethical norms adapted. In addition, we also expect other stakeholders to act in compliance with the norms set forth in the Code.
MOL Group Business Partner Code of Ethics is the abstract of MOL Group Code of Ethics and contains the norms of ethics we consider particularly important in our business relations and our business partners are also expected to comply therewith.
The primary objective of the EC Rules of Procedure is to promote ethical conduct prescribed in the Code of Ethics; to specify the roles and responsibilities of the organisational units and persons involved therein; to define the rules applicable to ethics investigation procedures; and operations of the Ethics Council (ethics officers).

 

Wind Power Pollution

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Wind Power Investment Prospects

    According to a study conducted by Deloitte entitled “Establishing The Investment Case – Wind Power”, wind power was a comparatively small investment destination in 2000 (US$4 billion), which has rapidly become a very promising source of clean energy today (the latest statistics from 2013 on per annum investment being an impressive US$59 billion). Indeed, the general opinion is that wind power is becoming such a profitable source of alternative energy that it is expected to attract around US$100 billion per annum, within a decade from now.

    China, a world leader in solar & wind energy production, has announced that the country covered 2.8% of its electricity generation through wind power in 2014 & is chalking out plans to boost the wind power market yet further this year.

    According to an official press statement by the Pakistani Finance Ministry, the World Bank has pledged to make massive investments in at least 2 wind farms in Pakistan (however, the statement didn’t specify the size of the investment or the date upon which it will be made official).

    Wind power, in many ways, is indeed a blessing to the pollution-choked, energy-starved inhabitants of Earth. But like all things in life, there is a darker side that could easily transform wind power from a source of energy that doesn’t poison its users, into a silent killer that can subject any living being to a slow & painful demise.

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Historical Perspective

    According to modern science, 118 elements have currently been discovered. But even then, when it comes to a simple summary of the important “parts” of life, the ancient Greeks’ 4-element system (earth, water, fire & air) is still highly relevant. They maintained that of all the elements that make up the material world, air (or wind) was the one that most aptly symbolized power beyond Man’s wildest dreams. The importance they attached to the great (& potentially destructive) power of the wind is amply demonstrated in the Odyssey, where Aeolus (Keeper Of The Winds) gave Odysseus a bag full of the captured winds with instructions to use the West Wind to sail safely back to Ithaca. But Odysseus’ men mistook the contents of the bag as treasure, opened it too wide & caused the shipwreck that led to Odysseus’ lengthy stay on Calypso’s island

    Skyscrapers are considered a modern-day wonder. But the first skyscrapers are said to have been found in the city of Atlantis. The strange part was that, even though Atlantean skyscrapers were likely to have been several dozen stories high, there were no stairs or elevators. How were they built? How did residents get past the ground floor? According to carvings found in the ruins of the city, it is speculated that the Atlanteans built special flying machines that “flew” by emitting infrasonic blasts onto the atmosphere directly below them. It is also speculated that the conversion of this technology into a weapon of war, during the Atlantis-Athens War proved their undoing; they exposed the land on which they had built their city to so much sonic activity, that the earth cracked & the city sank.

    It is no coincidence that the mystery of the Mary Celeste was first tackled by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (who was originally a doctor by profession). While historians have swept the compass for an explanation for what happened, the latest one says that there used to be a cove near where the Mary Celeste was found abandoned. At certain times of the year, the wind blew in such a way that the cove emitted infrasonic waves of just the right frequency to drive a person insane with severe pain. It is now thought that, the ship accidentally drifted too close to the cove & it was that time of year. That is why, the abandonment of the ship seems to have taken place right in the middle of lunch or dinner – as if all the people just jumped from their seats & leapt overboard!

    US chopper pilots in the Vietnam War often complained of eye pains & headaches after even short stints in the air. Military doctors were at a loss as to the cause – until they found that the speed at which the chopper rotors spun emitted infrasound of the frequency that causes pain in the eyes & head for people in their 20s & 30s. The chopper manufacturers were apprised of the problem & adjusted the rotor speed accordingly. Today, choppers do not cause any such problem.

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Modern Day Developments

    According to a research paper published by Dr. Alec N. Salt, PhD of the Washington University in St. Louis early last year, large wind turbines of the kind that are used on wind farms, generate infrasound that can cause (among other things) blood pressure elevation, memory dysfunction, vertigo, nausea, tinnitus, blocked ears & even deafness. This is cause for concern, because wind power is gaining popularity as the “Alternative Energy For The 21st Century”, outshining even hydropower & solar power.

    A further demonstration of the magnitude of investment in wind power is amply illustrated by the headline-making expulsion of a Chinese doctoral student & his German supervisor from Norway, not by the university at which the work was being carried out but by the Norwegian police. They were doing research on wind power.

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Living In Harmony With The Land

    A few decades ago, the palm oil plantations of Malaysia were over-run with rats. The creatures were destroying crops & injuring people at a terrifying pace. Because Malaysia is the world’s top producer & exporter of the lucrative oil, rats were slowly driving the Malaysian economy into the ground. No amount of rat poison & rifles would even reduce the exploding rat population, let alone allow the people to live in peace. The situation would have been as hopeless today, had the administration of Malaysia not come up with a very novel & environment-friendly idea: they started equipping every plantation with a few barn owls. The natural prey of the barn owl is the rat. After years of suffering destruction at the hands of Nature, the Malaysian people found the solution in Nature as well. It is as our ancestors would say: you will always find the solution at the root of the problem.

    Getting back to the infrasonic problem created by wind farms, the same principle applies. Rather than lunging for man-made (& consequently imperfect) sensors like specialized microphones, why not look to the Earth itself to provide us with the solution. If the frequency reaches a point where it is dangerous to living things, then it should be living things that give us early warning. Birds are some of the most sensitive organisms when it comes to infrasonic waves. Ornithologists have already studied normal bird behavioural patterns in such detail, that the slightest change in feeding, mating & migratory patterns can be identified & explained. If medium-sized aviaries or parks were built between wind farms & residential areas, the birds would become a natural alarm signal if or when the sonic frequencies generated by the wind farms began to have a negative effect on the surrounding environment (without becoming a hazard to the citizenry the way zoo animals are).

    In short, living in harmony with the land means living in harmony with each other.