MOL to Sell 49% Stake in BaiTex Unit to Turkish Petroleum Corp

By Margit Feher

BUDAPEST--Hungarian oil and gas company MOL Nyrt. (MOL.BU) said Thursday that it is close to selling a 49% stake in its fully-owned subsidiary BaiTex LLC to Turkish Petroleum Corporation, Turkey's national oil company.

Financial terms weren't disclosed.

BaiTex is the holder of the hydrocarbon licenses for the Baituganskoye field and Yerilkinsky block in the Volga-Ural region of Russia. As a result of the transaction, MOL's proved and probable reserves are expected to decrease by 37 million barrels of oil equivalent and 54 MMboe, respectively, the company said. Average production of the Baitugan field was 6,600 barrels of oil equivalents a day in 2013.

As a 51% owner of BaiTex, MOL will remain the operating shareholder of the company.

The sale is part of MOL's long-term portfolio-management and risk-sharing strategy, it said. The deal is to conclude in March, it added.

"MOL remains very committed to continuing its operations in Russia and has the financial flexibility to re-invest in promising new upstream assets to provide future growth," the company said.

MOL and TPAO are in discussions to identify other potential upstream cooperation opportunities, the Hungarian firm said.

Partly state-owned MOL, Hungary's biggest firm by sales income, conducts exploration activities in 12 countries. TPAO is involved in hydrocarbon exploration, drilling, production and marketing.

Write to Margit Feher at [e-mail]

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires