BRUSSELS — Hungary is prepared to kick its Russian oil addiction if the European Union helps bankroll its switch to other importers, according to one of the country’s most senior oil and gas executives.
György Bacsa, executive vice president for strategic operations at MOL Group, which runs Hungary’s only refinery importing Russian crude oil, said the oil and gas giant is open to diversifying its supplies before the EU’s informal 2027 deadline to end Russian oil purchases.
Hungary’s refineries could be “ready to work without Russian crude by the end of 2026,” he said.
But that would require EU cash, Bacsa said. Given the technological challenges involved and “$500 million” price tag of adapting MOL’s refineries to process other types of crude, Bacsa said the EU should help out with “a couple of hundred million.” MOL also has refineries processing Russian crude in Slovakia.
