energy industry
March 12, 2010, 09:43 CET
Magyar Telekom takes first steps to enter retail gas, electricity markets
Magyar Telekom on Thursday said it is expanding its client service portfolio by taking the first steps to entering the Hungarian retail gas and electricity market. "In line with Magyar Telekom’s strategy of capturing incremental revenue sources in business areas... [read complete entry]
March 10, 2010, 09:40 CET
MOL makes discovery in Iraq
Hungarian oil and gas company MOL on Tuesday said it had a made a discovery in a block in Iraq. MOL is evaluating a promising result from a test at a well in the Akri-Bijeel Block in the Kurdistan Region.... [read complete entry]
March 09, 2010, 09:24 CET
MOL ro raise fuel prices by Ft 3-6 per liter
MOL will raise the wholesale price of petrol by Ft 6 per litre and that of diesel by Ft 3 from tomorrow. As a result, petrol will cost around Ft 330-334 per litre, a record high, while a litre of... [read complete entry]
March 08, 2010, 10:19 CET
EU regional policy investment, no charity, says commissioner
The EU's regional policy is an investment, not a charity, which is aimed at bringing the less developed regions closer to the level of the most developed, the EU's Regional Policy Commissioner told a conference of the European People's Party... [read complete entry]
March 05, 2010, 09:46 CET
Five of 43 energy projects selected for grants by Commission involve Hungary
There are five projects involving Hungary among the 43 major energy projects selected to receive a combined EUR 2.3bn in grants by a Thursday decision of the European Commission (EC). The four projects with Hungarian participation are to receive a... [read complete entry]
March 02, 2010, 09:41 CET
Ukraine suspends electricity exports to Hungary
Ukraine announced yesterday that it suspended electricity exports to Hungary, Romania and Slovakia due to coal shortages in late January. The supply of electricity from Ukraine to Hungary ceased at midnight on January 27 and market players reported no imports... [read complete entry]
March 01, 2010, 09:38 CET
Upgrading Hungary's nuclear plant strategic issue, says PM
Upgrading the only nuclear power plant in Hungary is a "national, strategic" issue, Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai told reporters in Paks (C) on Friday. Bajnai spoke following a board meeting of the Hungarian Electric Works (MVM) and said that the... [read complete entry]
February 26, 2010, 10:01 CET
Ukraine's Turboatom to modernize Paks Nuclear Power Plant's fourth bloc
Hungary's Paks Nuclear Power Station has engaged Ukrainian turbine manufacturer Turboatom to modernize the 220-megawatt turbine in the plant's fourth block, Turboatom's press office said in a release. Turboatom is expected to deliver the 8 turbine blades stipulated in the... [read complete entry]
February 23, 2010, 08:48 CET
MOL discontinues exploration in Makó Trough
Hungarian oil and gas company MOL it will not continue a gas exploration project in Hungary's Mako Trough, the company told MTI on Monday, after its exploration partner Exxon Mobil said it had suspended its participation in the project because... [read complete entry]
February 17, 2010, 10:36 CET
Controls placed on Hungarian Electricity Works' choice of business partners
A extraordinary shareholders meeting of the state-owned Hungarian Electricity Works (MVM) has amended the company's articles of incorporation to introduce tighter controls over its choice of business partners, MVM told MTI. The changes require shareholder approval before signing a contract,... [read complete entry]
February 12, 2010, 10:17 CET
City in SE Hungary to build power plant, greenhouse
Two Hungarian companies and the local council of Battonya (SE Hungary) will start building a HUF 2bn, 6MW power plant fueled with natural gas from a field at the site in March, mayor Jozsef Karsai told MTI on Thursday. European... [read complete entry]
February 11, 2010, 09:47 CET
Kazakh oil to be shipped to Hungary via Gdansk
Kazakhstan will deliver crude to Hungary and Slovakia via the Polish port of Gdansk, the state oil company KazTransOil said on Thursday. Kazakhstan halted oil deliveries to the two countries on Monday due to a row with Ukraine. The company... [read complete entry]
February 11, 2010, 09:40 CET
Hungarian gas co FGSZ completes stretch of Hungary-Romania gas pipeline
The Hungarian part of a gas pipeline between Hungary and Romania has been completed at a cost of about HUF 9 billion, gas distributor FGSZ Foldgazszallito, which owns and operates the pipeline with Romanian peer Transgaz, told MTI on Wednesday.... [read complete entry]
February 10, 2010, 10:37 CET
Kazakhstan halts crude oil deliveries to Hungary, Slovakia
Kazakhstan has halted crude deliveries to Hungary and Slovakia via the Druzhba pipeline over a row with Ukraine, prompting Russian oil company Lukoil to intervene to compensate for the loss, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing traders. "Kazakhstan has asked (Russia's... [read complete entry]
February 09, 2010, 09:38 CET
CEO says construction of new blocks at Paks could be completed by 2020-2025
The licensing process for two new blocks at the Paks Nuclear Power Plant (C Hungary) could be completed in 2014-2015 and construction finished by 2020-2025, thus providing the facility with an additional 2,000MW of capacity, plant CEO Janos Suli told... [read complete entry]
February 09, 2010, 09:24 CET
Orbán offers funding to energy-saving households
If Fidesz forms Hungary's next government, it will set up a "green bank" to finance the rehabilitation of pre-fab housing estates and improvements in the homes to facilitate more economical heating, Viktor Orban, head of the main opposition party, said... [read complete entry]
February 08, 2010, 10:26 CET
MOL to focus on investments at Croatian unit in 2010
Hungarian oil and gas company will focus on investments at its Croatian unit INA and a consolidation of existing upstream and downstream projects this year, CEO Zsolt Hernadi said in an interview with Reuters on Friday. MOL and the Croatian... [read complete entry]
February 03, 2010, 10:23 CET
MVM in talks on acquiring stakes in E.ON electricity distributors
The state-owned Hungarian Electricity Works (MVM) is in talks on acquiring stakes in German utilities giant E.ON's electricity distributors in Hungary, MVM communications director Agoston Tringer told MTI on Tuesday, confirming wire reports. The talks are in line with a... [read complete entry]
February 01, 2010, 10:38 CET
Lights out for landmark countryside hotel - literally
It seems that a famous name and a central location isn't quite enough to guarantee success in the hotel business in the Hungarian countryside. According to a report in local daily Hajdú-bihari Napló via privatbankar.hu, last Thursday electricity provider E.ON... [read complete entry]
February 01, 2010, 09:38 CET
No official talks on gas distributor's client transfer to Gazprom, says CEO
Hungarian gas distributor EMFESZ has not held any official talks on relinquishing its clients, EMFESZ chief executive Istvan Goczi told MTI on Friday, in response to press reports claiming there would be talks about such a transfer to Russia's Gazprom.... [read complete entry]
February 01, 2010, 08:45 CET
Hungary's South Stream pipeline project company established
Representatives from the Hungarian Development Bank (MFB) and Russian gas company Gazprom signed an agreement following a meeting of the Hungarian-Russian mixed economic committee on Friday establishing the project company Deli Aramlat Magyarorszag Zrt. to prepare the construction of the... [read complete entry]
January 28, 2010, 10:10 CET
Hungary to press for long-term supply contract with Gazprom
Hungary's government will ask Russia's Gazprom to supply the clients of troubled Hungarian gas company EMFESZ in the long term at a meeting of the Hungarian-Russian mixed economic committee in Budapest on Thursday, business daily Vilaggazdasag said on Wednesday. The... [read complete entry]
January 21, 2010, 09:54 CET
Russian deputy PM to sign document on South Stream gas pipeline
Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov will be in Hungary next week and attend the signing of the founding document on a Hungarian-Russian joint venture for the South Stream gas pipeline, business daily Vilaggazdasag said on Thursday. Zubkov will... [read complete entry]
January 21, 2010, 09:49 CET
Egypt should join the International Nabucco Board, says Hungary committee head
Chairman of Hungary's ad hoc parliamentary committee for the Nabucco pipeline Janos Koka proposed on Wednesday that Egypt should join the International Nabucco Board, which provides political support to the Nabucco project. Koka told a press conference held jointly with... [read complete entry]
January 19, 2010, 09:42 CET
Bajnai, Kosor advance pipeline project
A gas pipeline connecting Hungary and Croatia will be completed by the end of the year and will operate at full capacity from the middle of next year, Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai announced after meeting his Croatian counterpart Jadranka Kosor... [read complete entry]
January 18, 2010, 10:40 CET
MOL partner in Iraq raises estimate for Shaikan Block
UK-listed oil and gas company Gulf Keystone Petroleum on Thursday said a final evaluation of Iraq's Shaikan Block, which it shares with Hungarian peer MOL, showed more oil than earlier thought. The report raised the range of oil in-place for... [read complete entry]
January 14, 2010, 10:38 CET
Preparations for Nabucco pipeline said to be on track
Preparations to build the EU-backed Nabucco gas pipeline are on track, Hungary's representative for the project told business daily Vilaggazdasag on Wednesday. The financing consortium which would operate the pipeline has already been set up, Mihaly Bayer said. Drafts of... [read complete entry]
January 11, 2010, 10:26 CET
When will we find out whether Hungary's rumored gas riches are really real?
Among the most mystifying ongoing business sagas in Hungary is the question of whether claims that the country is sitting on one of the largest natural gas fields in continental Europe - containing trillions of cubic meters of gas, or... [read complete entry]
January 08, 2010, 11:25 CET
MOL again leads HVG list of top 500 Hungarian companies in terms of revenue
Oil and gas company MOL is again at the top of business weekly HVG's annual list of the top 500 Hungarian companies in terms of revenue, the Thursday issue of HVG reveals. MOL leads the HVG list for the third... [read complete entry]
January 06, 2010, 11:01 CET
US bioethanol giant Fagen to build plant in Dunaföldvár
The US based ethanol giant Fagen is going to construct a bioethanol plant in Hungary, business daily Napi Gazdasag said, citing overseas press reports. The project will most probably be located in Dunafoldvar, a town 100 kms south of Budapest... [read complete entry]
January 06, 2010, 08:12 CET
Parliament to probe state petrol tender won by Austrian firm
Parliament's defense and law enforcement committee will hold an extraordinary meeting on Friday to discuss a petrol tender for state vehicles and its results. The meeting was called by MPs of opposition Fidesz. Government spokesman Domokos Szollar said on December... [read complete entry]
December 30, 2009, 10:47 CET
Hungary calls for regional energy strategy following Russian oil cutoff threat
Hungary has initiated a summit of the four Visegrád countries to discuss energy supply, Foreign Minister Péter Balázs told Népszabadság after Russia yesterday threatened to cut off oil shipments through Ukraine. The two countries subsequently reached an agreement on Monday... [read complete entry]
December 09, 2009, 10:02 CET
MOL denies claims it is adding to stake in Croatian oil company INA
Hungarian oil and gas company MOL did not buy any shares of the Croatian oil company INA from the Croatian government as part of its latest INA transaction, therefore, the company is unable to interpret the statements to that effect... [read complete entry]
December 09, 2009, 09:55 CET
Gov't plans to abolish energy subsidies by next April
The government plans to abolish gas price and district heating subsidies by April 15, 2010, the business daily Vilaggazdasag reported on Tuesday, citing information from sources close to the Finance Ministry and the State Treasury. The planned phase-out is also... [read complete entry]
December 07, 2009, 12:30 CET
Cash-strapped consumers and companies holding back on tens of billion in payments to energy utilities
While many in recession-wracked Hungary are continue to treat themselves to home-delivered meals every day, others are apparently having trouble keeping current with their household energy bills. According to napi.hu, individual consumers and companies have built up tens of billions... [read complete entry]
December 02, 2009, 12:18 CET
E.ON inaugurates region's largest gas storage facility in Hungary
The Hungarian unit of German utilities giant E.ON on Tuesday inaugurated a HUF 35bn gas store with capacity for more than 2.1bn cubic metres, making it the biggest gas store in Central and Eastern Europe. The store was inaugurated by... [read complete entry]
November 17, 2009, 08:23 CET
Opposition leader proposes 20-year plan for energy independence
The goal of a Fidesz government will be to create the conditions for Hungarian energy independence within 20 years, Viktor Orban, leader of conservative opposition Fidesz told a conference on Monday. Speaking at the 4th Energy Forum in Budapest, Orban... [read complete entry]
November 12, 2009, 10:31 CET
Canadian firm to buy Hungarian wind farm
Canada's Wind Works Power Corp on Wednesday said it signed an option agreement to acquire Ecsed, a 50MW wind farm in Hungary, for a combined USD 500,000. Wind Works Power will make an initial payment of USD 125,000 in January... [read complete entry]
June 15, 2009, 10:41 CET
Hungary lagging behind Europe on wind power
Hungary's share of Europe's wind energy capacities is less than one percent, an official of the European Wind Energy Association Jacopo Moccia said at a conference in Budapest on Friday. Of a total capacity of about 127,000 megawatts of wind... [read complete entry]
May 12, 2009, 08:34 CET
Transport, telecom and energy minister vows no privatizations
The Transport, Telecommunication and Energy Affairs Ministry is not planning any privatisations, Peter Honig, who heads the portfolio, said in an interview published in Monday's issue of daily Nepszava. "I have no intention of selling a single company that belongs... [read complete entry]
May 06, 2009, 09:32 CET
Feeling pinch, Hungarian consumers skimp on energy use
In response to the global economic crisis, nearly two thirds of Hungarians have economised on electricity and gas consumption over the past year, the latest survey of the market research company Nielsen showed.... [read complete entry]
April 24, 2009, 12:44 CET
Russian capital good for cooked Malév goose, bad for plump MOL gander
Interesting little coincidence yesterday in the increasingly fraught area of Russian-Hungarian economic ties. As expected, leading Hungarian energy firm MOL approved a series of takeover defenses aimed squarely Surgutneftegas, which is said to have comradely ties with the Kremlin.... [read complete entry]
April 24, 2009, 10:16 CET
MOL shareholders approve takeover defenses aimed at Russian suitor
Shareholders at an annual general meeting of Hungarian oil and gas company MOL on Thursday approved proposals aimed at preventing a hostile takeover of the company.... [read complete entry]
April 23, 2009, 11:45 CET
Report charges gouging by Hungary's electricity companies
Hungarian electricity companies are making fat profits owing to the gap between domestic retail prices for electricity and international market prices, which have been falling, Nepszabadsag daily said on Thursday.... [read complete entry]
April 07, 2009, 12:04 CET
MOL lowers fuel prices, fans protectionist flames
From various news reports we hear that MOL will be lowering some prices at the pump starting tomorrow. While this is no doubt due to changes in the international price for crude oil and refined petroleum products, we are likely... [read complete entry]
April 01, 2009, 11:38 CET
Gov't says foreign takeover of MOL against Hungary's national interest
Hungary's government does not support anybody with hostile intentions trying to achieve influence in strategic arms of the Hungarian economy, the government spokesman said on Tuesday.... [read complete entry]
March 11, 2009, 07:27 CET
Hungary, Russia ink deal on South Stream gas pipeline
Prime Ministers Ferenc Gyurcsány of Hungary and Vladimir Putin of Russia looked on as Hungarian energy company MOL and Russia’s Gazprom signed an agreement in Moscow Tuesday on forming a company to build the Hungarian section of the South Stream... [read complete entry]
January 28, 2009, 02:22 CET
Bioethanol production hampered by government inaction
Hungary is well behind in its plans to become a major bioethanol producer, reports business daily Napi Gazdaság. Plans drawn up five years ago forecast that the country would currently be delivering up to a million tons of bioethanol, but... [read complete entry]
January 23, 2009, 08:01 CET
Gas supply to Hungary back to normal following Ukraine crisis
Hungary's gas distribution system has fully resumed normal operations, distributor FGSZ reported on Thursday.... [read complete entry]
January 22, 2009, 09:18 CET
Gyurcsány in Gulf talks over liquefied natural gas shipments
Negotiations are at an advanced stage on building a terminal in Croatia for receiving liquefied natural gas (LNG) to be shipped from Oman and Qatar, Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány announced Wednesday in Qatar.... [read complete entry]
January 19, 2009, 10:23 CET
Magyar Horizont to increase production in wake of gas crisis
US-owned oil and gas exploration and production company Magyar Horizont intends to boost production and accelerate exploration due to the Russian-Ukrainian gas dispute, Magyar Horizont told MTI on Friday.... [read complete entry]
January 16, 2009, 08:32 CET
Hungary lifts restrictions on industrial gas consumers
Restrictions on big gas consumers were lifted at 10:00am on Thursday, Hungary's minister in charge of energy affairs Csaba Molnar said.... [read complete entry]
January 13, 2009, 09:00 CET
Former energy affairs minister appointed head of power plant company
The state-owned Hungarian Electricity Works (MVM) recalled the CEO of its power plant company Vertesi Eromu, Tibor Galos, and replaced him with former minister in charge of energy affairs Pal Szabo at an extraordinary shareholders meeting on Monday, MVM spokesman... [read complete entry]
January 13, 2009, 08:50 CET
Gas trader EMFESZ to rescue Nitrogenmuvek
Energy market trader EMFESZ on Monday said it was ready to rescue troubled artificial fertiliser maker Nitrogenmuvek if it could acquire a stake in the company.... [read complete entry]
January 12, 2009, 09:06 CET
E.ON Foldgaz Trade signs contract to deliver gas to Serbia
E.ON Foldgaz Trade, the Hungarian gas trade unit of Germany's E.ON, has signed a contract with Srbija Gas to deliver the Serbian gas company 2.7m cubic meters of gas a day, E.ON Foldgaz Trade informed MTI on Friday.... [read complete entry]
January 08, 2009, 03:30 CET
Analysts say Hungary's economy among most vulnerable to gas crisis
Hungary's economy is one of Europe's most vulnerable to the gas crisis, London-based emerging market analysts told MTI on Thursday.... [read complete entry]
January 08, 2009, 10:01 CET
Saturday workday canceled to save gas
Saturday will not be a workday, the National Interest Reconciliation Council decided at an unscheduled meeting on Wednesday. This will reduce the usage of Hungarian gas by 10% on that day, Népszabadság writes.... [read complete entry]
January 08, 2009, 08:46 CET
Hungarian companies scale back, halt production due to gas restriction
Restrictions on gas consumption for big consumers ordered by Hungarian gas transmission company FGSZ have forced some companies to scale back or even halt production, while others able to use alternative fuels remain unaffected.... [read complete entry]
January 07, 2009, 08:42 CET
Hungary limits industrial gas use
Hungary's government has instructed further industrial consumers to limit their gas use from 0800 on Wednesday, Foldgazszallito Zrt, a Hungarian unit of Germany's E.ON, said.... [read complete entry]
December 29, 2008, 10:09 CET
Industry to face first cuts if gas supplies to Hungary disrupted
Should the Russian-Ukrainian pricing dispute disrupt gas supplies to Europe early next year, Hungary will have to limit deliveries for industrial plants, national daily Nepszabadsag said on Saturday.... [read complete entry]
December 22, 2008, 10:48 CET
State to auction off 30 more minority stakes starting next month
The state will put a further 30 of its minority stakes in companies with a combined starting price of HUF 1.747bn up for auction on January 27, the National Asset Management Company (MNV) told MTI on Friday.... [read complete entry]
November 28, 2008, 07:47 CET
Government to keep lid on natural gas prices in January
The government-regulated price of natural gas will remain unchanged next January, incoming minister of energy affairs Csaba Molnar and government spokeswoman Bernadett Budai said on Thursday.... [read complete entry]
November 26, 2008, 12:41 CET
Hungary's first independent gas supplier joins forces with Tesco
Emfesz Kft. has launched a joint marketing campaign with hypermarket giant Tesco to encourage retail customers to switch away from former state-run gas suppliers, writes business daily Napi.hu.... [read complete entry]
November 11, 2008, 12:16 CET
Parliament passes Ft 30 billion "Robin Hood" tax on energy firms
Parliament yesterday passed the so-called Robin Hood bill, imposing an 8% tax on energy providers and traders for two years. The expected Ft 30 billion each year will be used to make block heating more cost-efficient.... [read complete entry]
November 10, 2008, 02:26 CET
Anti-establishment outlaw becomes favored marketing tool of Hungarian establishment
Via Hungarian media and adverting trademag Kreatív Online I see that third-place mobile provider Vodafone has launched a new campaign featuring mythical English bandit Robin Hood and 19th-century Hungarian highwayman and agrarian socialist revolutionary Sándor Rózsa to promote new discounts... [read complete entry]
September 23, 2008, 04:11 CET
Investors plan Ft 50 billion biomass power plant in Northeast Hungary
A group of mostly German investors plan to build a HUF 50bn biomass power plant in Batonytereny (NE Hungary), Ferenc Szatmari, a Hungarian investor in the project, told MTI on Tuesday.... [read complete entry]
September 23, 2008, 10:07 CET
MOL chairman supports both Nabucco and South Stream pipelines
Both the EU-backed Nabucco and the Russian South Stream oil pipelines will be built, because Europe needs additional transport facilities, chairman-CEO of MOL Zsolt Hernádi said at a press conference in Vienna.... [read complete entry]
September 16, 2008, 10:09 CET
Robin Hood tax to be implemented to help pay energy subsidies
The government plans to levy a "Robin Hood" tax on energy companies and use the proceeds to subsidise district heating payments for low-income families, Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany said in Parliament on Monday.... [read complete entry]
September 01, 2008, 08:55 CET
Ministry gives go-ahead for fourth gas price hike of the year
The energy ministry gave its approval to gas companies to raise gas prices for retail consumers by 6.55 percent and for businesses by 9.4 percent, effective on October 1, the ministry announced on Saturday. This is the fourth gas price... [read complete entry]
August 07, 2008, 07:49 CET
European Commission closes door on OMV-MOL merger plan
Though Hungarian oil and gas company MOL and the Hungarian state took extraordinary measures to fend off an attempted hostile takeover by Austrian peer OMV started more than a year ago, it was the European Commission's conditions on a potential... [read complete entry]
July 28, 2008, 09:08 CET
New flats in Hungary to require energy consumption certificates in 2009
As of next year, newly-built apartments in Hungary will require certificates indicating the property's relative energy efficiency, while existing flats being sold or rented will need to have a "green card" by 2012, reports Hungarian newswire MTI. The certificates were... [read complete entry]
July 01, 2008, 11:02 CET
Gas prices rise 10% in July, with further rises expected in October
Gas prices to are expected to rise as the government holds off on offsetting the increase through subsidies. [read complete entry]
June 23, 2008, 11:17 CET
Austrian energy firm to set up major wind farm in Békés county
Construction on one of Hungary's largest wind farms will begin in southeast Hungary early next year. [read complete entry]
December 14, 2007, 07:38 CET
Economy Minister initiates review of "flawed" electricity law
Hungary's new economy minister suggested that the recently-adopted law aimed at liberalizing the country's electricity market was instead hampering competition. Rising energy costs are considered a serious threat to Hungary's competitiveness and economic growth. [read complete entry]
December 12, 2007, 11:03 CET
Hungary's first geothermal plant slated for 2009
A subsidiary of plastic maker Pannonplast is planning to open Hungary's first geothermal plant in 2009, and many more in the years following. [read complete entry]
November 07, 2007, 01:11 CET
Household electricity prices to rise maximum of 10%, official predicts
Despite fears to the contrary, household electricity prices will rise by a maximum of 10% in January, an Economy Ministry official said. [read complete entry]