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As far as I know, he is not yet 40 years old, but he has been the managing director of all of Mol’s Hungarian operations for two and a half years. What does this mean anyway, since it is treated fairly exact?
I have several tasks at Mol, one of which is operational management in Hungary: my main task is to ensure the operation, regulatory environment, communication with employees and the operational environment of the individual business lines. Another task, which is more of a project: the construction of Campus Mol. The third, which is perhaps the most important from a professional point of view for me, is the management of consumer services at the group level, most of which are retailers, but also include various mobility services and digital developments that support these areas.
You are a first generation Growwwer. This program also continued this year. Is supply so important?
As in team sports, it is paramount in the life of the company. The Growww program is the flagship of our recent graduate program. This is how I got here 14 years ago when it started. Diversity is an important component of our workforce philosophy; everyone, from the young to the old, has their own thinking, dynamics, and worldview; Combining this and creating an efficient and innovative work environment is a great asset in a company. The selection itself is a serious process, as we have 3-4,000 applicants per year, of which we can provide space for 150.
This year has put all business leaders in a new position due to the crisis caused by the coronavirus epidemic. How much did it count as deep water? As a leader, what was the hardest part?
Nobody had a routine for that. Perhaps the hardest part of fighting the unknown was how much we could stay calm, how often, and how transparently we could communicate inwardly and outwardly. Above all, we had to reassure our employees to do their best to control the situation. Protecting our employees and consumers was the most important part of the job. Perhaps we were the first in Hungary to introduce company-wide testing. This was also especially important because
We ensure the energy supply of the country and the region, for example, the Százhalombatta refinery has to operate continuously, if we stop there, the mobility of the entire country may soon be paralyzed.
It was certainly a great stress and a great task to figure out how to deal with this security situation.
In March, oil was found off the coast of Norway. Did you find it somewhere else?
This Norwegian success was particularly good news, especially in the early 2020s. Its magnitude is between 12 million and 70 million barrels, but it is still in the research phase and it remains to be seen whether the exact reserves of hydrocarbons will be limited. . Fortunately, this is not the only good news in the field of hydrocarbon exploration: in Pakistan, our success story of more than 20 years has continued with the thirteenth hydrocarbon impact, which is equivalent to an extraction equivalent to about 6- 7,000 barrels per day. I can also give good news about Hungary: at home we basically investigated shallow gas lenses, exploration drilling of small gas bubbles, we had 5 out of 5 results. These can be drilled relatively cheaply and put into production very quickly.
They had a bigger acquisition in Azerbaijan. Are you planning new ones?
In the world-class ACG field, we acquired a 9.57 percent stake in Chevron. This is a very long production project, spanning decades and decades: the biggest advantage for us is that we can sit at a table with world-class companies like BP, SOCAR or Exxon Mobil and learn best practices from them. how the production process is managed. Whether we plan acquisitions is always a difficult question, especially when oil prices are so volatile.
After the ACG transaction, we will not be under pressure to continue growing, but we will nevertheless be open and even try to be proactive in the market and be among the first to be informed about the opportunities that will be provided. However, given the current market situation and Mol’s challenges, a transaction of a similar magnitude to ACG is not expected in the near future.
In the shadow of the pandemic, what year could Mol close this year?
When we take into account the circumstances, especially the drastic and unprecedented decline in demand for petroleum products, we will have a relatively good year behind us.
We will be approximately 20 percent behind our financial performance last year.
– Here, EBITDA adjusted mainly for buyback prices is what the industry looks at. Due to the situation, we have reduced our CAPEX expenses (investments, investments) by 30 percent, so all of our business segments can also generate free cash this year.
Mol’s share price fell more than a third this year. Why don’t investors trust paper? They bought their own shares for more than 10 billion this year, is that why?
Obviously, there is a connection. The entire oil industry is surrounded by a kind of negativity, especially from investors. Carbon constraints, the constant shift towards renewables and the tightening of the regulatory environment are creating a kind of uncertainty for investors. Based on share prices, the oil industry had one of the worst results this year due to the pandemic. Publicly traded oil companies have lost significant value.
By comparison, Mol’s 30 percent drop in stock price isn’t relatively bad, but by definition, we think it’s worth a lot more than that. This, in turn, leads to the rational decision voted on by the board that if Mol’s market value is already that low, we can create value for our shareholders by buying shares.
How are you doing now with the implementation of your 2030 strategy?
This strategy was written in 2016, so it is worth looking at where its implementation is headed. If we look at how demand for fossil products is reorganizing, then perhaps you can say that Mol has voted in the right direction with petrochemicals and the development of higher value-added plastics; We are not thinking here of PET bottles, but of furniture production. , like sponges in chairs or insulation materials in construction, to name a few. All of these are derived from petroleum. This is an important direction for the future: how can we make our energy use more efficient, how can we operate essentially everything we use more economically.
Another very important direction is consumer services: how can we serve our consumers, not just with fuel, but with anything else, like coffee or pizza. The demand for these has decreased to a much lesser degree, or not at all, than that for fossil fuels during the pandemic.
At the same time, there are elements that five years ago we did not think were so serious: such as sustainability, carbon emissions or waste management.
All of these are topics that will now be given much more weight in our strategy review.
Where is the construction of the new headquarters, Campus Mol, currently taking place?
We can keep it at twenty-eight percent. More important than this number, we are already halfway up the tower, work is being done on the 17th floor floor. Basically construction is going according to plan, maybe a little ahead of schedule. The market is building, despite the pandemic, they are moving very organized, very well. The building itself will be quite complex, one of the smartest and most innovative buildings not only in Hungary, but in the entire region.
How about another investment, the largest organic investment in Mol’s history, the Tiszaújváros polyol plant?
About 71 to 72 percent. Despite the difficulties the work was continuous at all times. Inside the mobile housing development, where the temporary workers, the subcontractor workers of the main contractor ThyssenKrupp, are housed, the epidemic has hit the head, with some 200 people contracted by the coronavirus. Thanks to continuous testing and close cooperation with authorities, we have been able to control the spread of the virus and now the number of active infections is clearly on a downward trend.
When can the headquarters or factory be delivered?
In the case of the Campus, we are going to stay in September 2022, while in the polyol plant there is a slip, so it is conceivable that next year’s handover will slide until 2022.
Zsolt Hernádi was convicted in the first instance in Croatia almost a year ago. Is this a final judgment? Where is this story now?
The judicial process follows its own path, we are waiting for a written sentence to be issued. But on the merits of the case, our position has not changed. The accusations are completely unfounded. Several national and international legal forums have already clarified Molt and his leaders.
What is happening there in this matter is absolutely unworthy of justice in all the countries of the European Union.
The explanation may not be in the field of justice but in politics.
What will happen to the INA, where are the negotiations now? They sell, they don’t give?
Basically INA operates as a joint venture, where the two dominant owners are the Croatian state and Mol. There are, and have been, disputes between us about the governance of the company. However, the Croatian side has now recognized that there is undoubtedly a visible improvement in the functioning, financial efficiency, effectiveness and future strategy of the INA. However, in many joint ventures, the question arises that if one party is not as satisfied, it will buy from the other; this is also the case here.
Mol has said so far that it is open for negotiation, if there is an interpretable offer from the Croatian government that will financially recoup Mol’s investments so far, then we are open for sale.
(Cover image: Péter Ratatics. Photo: Ferenc Isza / Index)
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