RusEnergy

24 April 2007 - Upstream OnLine - Hungarian oil and gas company MOL said it had bought a Russian oil production and exploration block with small proven reserves and production. MOL said in a statement to the Budapest Stock Exchange it had bought Matjushkinskaya Vertikal from private individuals and has received regulatory approval for the purchase, Reuters reported. The company holds exploration rights in the Tomsk region of Western Siberian on an area covering 3231 square kilometres. Its proven and probable reserves are 6 million barrels and current daily production is around 550 to 600 barrels. The Russian company's exploration licence is valid until 2010 and its production licence expires in 2029. Financial terms were not disclosed. MOL set out in 2006 to triple its upstream output to 300,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day and to lift its proven reserves to 900 million barrels of oil equivalent from just under 300 million. It said it expected to make several upstream acquisitions in Russia as well as the Middle East to fulfil its targets.