Natural Gas Exploration Starts at New Site

The MVM Group has started exploring for natural gas in the Berettyóújfalu area (eastern Hungary), a new location that has not been previously publicized, reports Világgazdaság.

Three wells have already been drilled as part of the natural gas exploration and production project in Berettyóújfalu, which began in December 2023. A fourth well was also drilled in February 2024, after which, in a favorable scenario, a new work program will be launched to drill another eight to ten wells. MVM published the news on its website in a summary of the results and significance of its upstream activities to date. The announcement also outlines their growth and international expansion strategy:

Our Group is working to expand its existing exploration and production portfolio by continuously reviewing and exploring domestic and regional upstream opportunities and plans to enter into further transaction negotiations.”

What is no longer just a plan, however, is that the MVM Group commenced its upstream activities at the end of last year, a new element in its portfolio that also represents an important milestone in the company’s organizational structure. It is a sign of their commitment to achieving its energy security goals, the statement said. The successes of the Corvinus and Berettyóújfalu projects will enable the MVM Group’s upstream activities to contribute to achieving the goals of the National Energy Strategy and increasing domestic gas production.

In line with MVM’s new strategy, MVM intends to further expand its involvement and presence in the upstream sector. The upstream business they launched will ensure that the key objectives of the National Energy Strategy, in force since January 2020, can be achieved. These are to reduce the vulnerability of domestic gas supply, and strengthen energy sovereignty and energy security. As the first two elements of the upstream strategy, the Group holds a 50:50 stake in the Corvinus and Berettyóújfalú hydrocarbon exploration and production projects, which have now achieved good results.

The Corvinus project was launched in December 2021, and its first well has already successfully explored the Nyékpuszta natural gas field. In less than two years, the three deep (4,000-4,200 meters) natural gas production wells were drilled and the necessary surface infrastructure to bring them on production was established. Production from the field started with the first well on February 13, 2023. Since then, all three wells have been in continuous production.

Furthermore, wells drilled years before the start of the investment have already started production, so that four wells are now contributing to the increase in domestic gas production.

So far, the Corvinus project has produced more than 50 million cubic meters of natural gas and nearly 65 thousand cubic meters of condensate. To increase production, two more wells will be drilled this year and an investment to increase the efficiency of production infrastructure is also planned. Last December, the Berettyóújfalu natural gas investment was launched, as described above, so the fourth well will be drilled in February, but the bulk of the work will come after that.

Via Világgazdaság, Featured image: Facebook/Energiaügyi Minisztérium