Hungary's MOL expands North Sea presence

BUDAPEST, Hungary, July 1 (UPI) -- Hungarian energy company MOL said it expanded its presence on the global exploration and production map with the purchase of North Sea acreage.

MOL said it paid $130 million to Premier Oil U.K. Ltd. for six license areas in the central waters of the North Sea.

"This acquisition represents a significant step forward in growing a solid sizable North Sea portfolio," Alexander Dodds, a vice president in charge of upstream operations, said in a statement Monday.

The company said it expected the license areas in the North Sea could hold prospective, unrisked reserves of 7 million barrels of oil equivalent.

Year-to-date, the assets acquired by MOL have averaged 3.7 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, with peak production of 6.2 million boe anticipated within the next two years.

For MOL, its peak production from the North Sea with its new assets in hand should peak at around 20 million boe per day by 2018.