Press Releases

• The first oil from the Catcher Area was achieved on 23rd December 2017
• MOL holds a 20% non-operated stake in the Catcher project

Budapest, 27th December 2017 – Over the coming months production is expected to be ramped up in phases, initially from the Catcher field followed by the Varadero and Burgman fields. MOL Group’s partners are Premier Oil (50%, operator), Cairn (20%) and Dyas (10%).

Berislav Gašo, MOL Group’s Executive Vice President for Upstream commented: “MOL Group would like to congratulate the Catcher Area Development Project team for achieving this significant milestone. This has been a real team effort with challenging wells, a state of the art subsea systems and a new built FPSO all delivered safely.”

The Catcher Development lies in the UK Central North Sea approximately 180 km off the North East coast of Scotland. The development comprises three separate fields which are Catcher, Burgman and Varadero. The reservoirs lie in a water depth of around 93 metres. It is intended that the fields will be produced from 19 subsea wells. In Phase 1 a total of 12 wells have already been drilled, completed and tied back via subsea infrastructure to a new build FPSO (Floating Production Storage and Offloading). Phase 2 drilling is ongoing with well number 14 being completed.

The build of the FPSO commenced in Japan with first steel for the hull being cut in January 2015. In August 2016 the hull was towed to Singapore to Keppel’s Benoi shipyard for mating with the topsides equipment. On mechanical completion in August 2017 the vessel was towed to the North Sea and installed on location in October.

The FPSO, which is owned by BW Offshore, is 240m long X 50m wide X 27m deep and is approximately as long as 2 football pitches. It weighs over 56,000 tonnes, has a storage capacity of 650,000 barrels of oil and is home to a workforce of around 120 workers.

The oil will be offloaded by tankers from the FPSO while the gas will be exported through the Shell-Esso Gas and Liquids (SEGAL) facilities.

• customers can find the new Fresh Corner refreshment concept at as many as 113 Slovnaft Service Stations
• 55 shops have been added this year, further 65 Fresh Corner shops are planned to be opened next year
• Slovnaft has also started to modernize its restaurants at Service Stations, customer can try them at the Service Stations in Bratislava Vajnory and Budča, those in Zvolen Lieskovec or Rimavská Sobota will be added soon

BRATISLAVA, 21 December, 2017 – This year Slovnaft has continued to modernize its shops and expand the service offer for customers. The new Fresh Corner fast food concept that brings quality coffee and fast refreshment to people on the road is available at as many as 113 Service Stations, i. e. 55 new shops have been added this year. Slovnaft has also started to refurbish its restaurants. The motorists can try the new offer in the renovated restaurant at the Bratislava Vajnory Service Station. Slovnaft will carry on modernizing its shops and restaurants even in 2018.

Modern Fresh Corner shops offering top-quality coffee, sweet and salty fully baked bakery products and fast food have been available to customers since mid-2015. The offer was gradually extended by fresh vegetable or fruit salads or healthy drinks – smoothies. The comfort of travelers, especially of families with children, has been increased by kids‘ corners. Currently, Fresh Corner shops can be found at all types of Service Stations, i. e. at highway (e. g. Budča, Štrba or Malý Šariš in both directions), transit (Šahy or Trenčianska Turná) or urban ones (Bratislava Botanická Str. and Bratislava Bajkalská Str.).

This year, the total of 55 Fresh Corner shops have been added to the Slovnaft network; the last ones were opened in Nový Smokovec and in Sobrance. Next year, the modernization should continue, 65 new shops should be opened in total. The entire renovation should be finalized in 2019; then, Fresh Corner should be part of majority of Slovnaft Sevice Stations.

“Our customers have got used to the new fast food standard extremely fast. What the motorists appreciate are especially hot-dogs and tasty coffee. We have noted a significant increase in the sales of coffee and, currently, Slovnaft is not just the largest Service Station network but probably also the leading coffee seller in Slovakia,” Timea Reicher, Retail Director at Slovnaft said.

Fresh Corner is an international fast food brand at the Service Stations of the MOL Group to which also Slovnaft belongs. Motorists can enjoy the offer at more than 430 Service Stations in the regions of Central and Southern Europe, from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Romania to Serbia and Montenegro.

Slovnaft has started to modernize also its restaurants at 17 Service Stations. New premises will offer enhanced comfort and the innovated menu can be tried by customers already at the Service Stations in Bratislava Vajnory and Budča (in both directions) or in Ivachnová. They can also enjoy warm soups, burgers or a wide choice of main meals. The offer also includes breakfast, salads or sweet dishes. “We have not forgotten about our youngest customer, either; there is a children’s menu ready for them,” Timea Reicher added.

• Martina Darnadiová and Matúš Horváth became new member of SLOVNAFT, a.s. Supervisory Board
• as their representatives they were elected by SLOVNAFT, a.s. employees

BRATISLAVA, 19 December, 2017 – Martina Darnadiová and Matúš Horváth became new members of SLOVNAFT, a.s. Supervisory Board. Slovnaft employees elected them at turn of November and December 2017 as their representatives in the main control body of the Company for the next 5 years.

Out of 2479 eligible voters – SLOVNAFT, a.s. employees, 1729 employees participated in the election, which is 69.75 percent. Martina Darnadiová and Matúš Horváth will replace Tibor Kaczor and Jan Sýkora in the Supervisory Board.

The Supervisory Board of SLOVNAFT, a.s., has a total of 6 members, with 2 of them being elected by the employees. After the elections, the members of the Board are György Mosonyi (Chairman), Zsuzsanna Éva Ortutay, Szabolcs István Ferencz, Slavomír Hatina, Martina Darnadiová and Matúš Horváth.

CVs of new members of the Supervisory Board:

Martina Darnadiová - member of the Supervisory Board since December 2017 as elected employee representative - candidate of ZO ECHOZ at SLOVNAFT, a.s., officer at the Department of Consumer Taxes and Customs Activities. After graduating from secondary vocational school in Bratislava, she joined Slovnaft in 1993. She first worked in Petrochemicals on Polyethylene Treatment department, later on Polypropylene Expedition and then on the logistics terminal in Bratislava. Since 2009, she has been working as Officer in the Consumer Tax and Customs Activities Department.

Matúš Horváth - Member of the Supervisory Board since December 2017 as elected employee representative - Independent Candidate, Manager of Fuel Production in Slovnaft refinery. After graduating on the Faculty of Chemical and Food Technology of the Slovak Technical University, he joined Slovnaft in 2005 as assistant to the Head of Plant 5. In 2006 he was appointed Deputy Head of the Expedition department in the refinery and in 2008 he became its head. Since 2013, he was a manager of the Planning and Optimization department and since 2015 he is the Managing of Fuel Production production unit.

• Energy company CM European Power Slovakia (CMEPS) will be taken over by Slovnaft on January 1, 2018.
• Currently, Slovnaft is the sole member of CMEPS. After the integration is carried out, it will become a legal successor of the Company.
• The integration will reduce costs.

BRATISLAVA, December 18, 2017 – CM European Power Slovakia, s.r.o. (CMEPS) will merge in Slovnaft on January 1, 2018. CMEPS Company will cease to exist without its liquidation by being taken over by Slovnaft which will become its legal successor.

The integration of CMEPS Company aims at reducing costs. It is assumed that the merger of both Companies will save several million Euro annually especially on various administrative fees which the Companies have to pay in the present day as well as on duplicate administrative and production costs, thus increasing effectivity.

CMEPS Company is located in the premises of the Bratislava refinery where it operates a heating plant that generates electric energy and heat in the form of over-heated vapour for all the production
and non-production Slovnaft sections. In 2009, the heating plant was integrated into a joint venture of MOL, Slovnaft and Czech energy company ČEZ and named CM European Power Slovakia. At the end of 2016, Slovnaft acquired 100 % share in the Company.

• Slovnaft collects used cooking oil at it´s 162 service stations in 84 cities and municipalities in Slovakia
• Since the start of collection of the used cooking oil, customers have delivered approximately 60 tons of cooking oil at Slovnaft service stations
• A partner of ecological project Every drop of oil counts is Meroco, which processes the used oil and produces biofuel components

BRATISLAVA, 8. December 2017 – In Christmas time of frying and baking, Slovak households may use extended possibility of handing over used cooking oil. Slovnaft has increased the number of service stations collecting used cooking oil. It can be handed over to 162 filling stations in 84 cities and municipalities. People who give up oil will contribute to protection of the environment. When used oil is poured into a sink, it seals the sewer, attracts rodents and pollutes water. The used cooking oil is recyclable and, after processing, can be used as a biofuel component. From one liter of used cooking oil, up to 0.9 liters of biofuel components are produced.

Households can collect any vegetable oil – frying and cooking oil, but also oil that was used for fish, vegetables, or cheese. It is important to collect clean oil without small parts of food and without water. It is recommended to use sieve and clean and dry PET bottle or original packaging. The collected oil is then simply handed over to the service station. BONUS customers receive one bonus point per deciliter of oil.

Slovnaft started the project Every drop of oil counts in 2011. After the pilot phase at selected service stations, the project first expanded to 10 petrol stations and in 2016 to a total of 93 petrol stations, where oil containers were permanently located. Up to now, Slovnaft has gathered about 60 tons of cooking oil. Meroco, the partner company, used this oil for production of biofuels.

• Štefan Svitko goes to Dakar with podium ambitions
• Motorcycle and pilot vehicles set sail tomorrow for South America - 23 November
• Members of the SLOVNAFT Rally Team fly to Peru at the end of December 2017

BRATISLAVA, 22 November 2018 - Three-time Europe champion, multiple champion of the SR in endurance and cross-country rallying, and the most successful Slovak motorcycle rider. Štefan Svitko will take on the colours of the SLOVNAFT Rally Team for the ninth time at the prestigious Dakar Rally 2018. The 40th anniversary Dakar Rally will begin on 6 January in Lima, the capital of Peru and continue on through Bolivia with the final stage ending in Cordoba, Argentina.

Štefan Svitko is highly motivated to achieve the best possible result. However, this depends on several factors. Good conditioning is essential, combined with a reliable and efficient riding style and - last but not least - a great deal of luck. “I want to focus more on the details in each stage, so I do not pay for administrative penalties like the previous year. However, this is very difficult in the extreme conditions of the rally, especially if you think that a single mistake can ruin all your ambitions. This year, with a bit of luck, I will attempt to get on the podium” Last year, Štefan Svitko finished in 25th place, mainly due to penalties, such as prohibited refuelling in the neutralization zone. The year before, he won second place and a Beduine trophy, which is the best placing of a Slovak racer in the history of the Dakar Rally.

Again, this year, Štefan Svitko will be backed in the Dakar by a KTM motorcycle with a factory support team. As part of the SLOVNAFT Rally Team, Štefan Svitko will again be supported by the experienced duo of mechanic Zlatko Novosád and Martin Kubačka, who is overseeing logistics and information transfer of the live situation to Slovakia. Other members of the team include Dominik Žazo and Dominik Guláš responsible mainly for the caravan transport between the various stages of the rally.

The start of the next Dakar will again test Štefan’s fitness and riding skills, as well as the quality of the motorcycle, whose top notch performance will be provided by MOL Dynamic lubricants, including motor oils intended for extreme heavy duty operations.

In addition to intense training, the rider also needs to fully recover from any injuries. Štefan has managed to successfully recover from a fracture of his left hand, which he suffered last month at the Team Endurance Rally Europe Championship in Gelnica.

Before this injury, Štefan was in great form. He convincingly won the Serres Rally of Greece in September, where he won six of the seven stages and basically raced with himself.„Dakar is the highest milestone for me in racing, so I will dedicate myself fully to preparation over the following weeks. I feel very good, but the desert route is really challenging, so I will focus my training on strength and dexterity”Štefan explains. Štefan trained riding on sand dunes in Morocco just a week ago.

Since his first run at Dakar in 2010, Štefan Svitko has always had the support of Slovnaft. He took 13th place at his first Dakar Rally and became the most successful rookie. The subsequent year he suffered a motorcycle failure and could not complete the eighth stage having to retire. Two years later, he had a nasty fall only three stages before the finish of the rally, and had to retire. In 2013 he took 9th place, but in 2012 and 2015 he was fifth overall. In 2016, he took second place.

Supporters of the Slovak racer can watch events unfold throughout the entire rally and view important information from backstage on his fan page: www.facebook.com/StefanSvitkoFanklub.

Contact Person:

Anton Molnár
Spokesman and Director of Business and Marketing Communications
Phone: +421 905 393 161

• S&P rating confirms MOL’s resilient integrated business model and strong financial profile.
• Following previous steps by Fitch and Moody’s, MOL has now become a full investment grade issuer.

Budapest, 16^th November 2017 – MOL Plc. has been upgraded to BBB- investment grade long-term credit and issuer rating with stable outlook by Standard and Poor’s (“S&P”).

S&P concluded that the upgrade to investment grade credit rating was justified by the improvement in MOL’s current and forecasted credit metrics, thanks to the company’s strong performance and supportive industry conditions. S&P added that MOL demonstrated the benefits of its integrated business model, delivered on its cost optimization program with sustainable benefits for profitability and increased the share of less volatile retail and petrochemicals segments. The stable outlook reflects S&P’s expectation that MOL will maintain robust credit metrics, supported by positive free operating cash flow generation, while continuing to invest in its chemicals business.

In March last year, Fitch Ratings revised MOL’s outlook to stable from negative, while affirming its Long-term Issuer Default Rating at BBB- grade. It was followed by Moody’s which assigned Baa3 investment grade rating to MOL in March 2017. With the upgrade of S&P, MOL has now become a full investment grade issuer according to all three major rating agencies.

József Simola, MOL Group Chief Financial Officer commented: "We are delighted by the upgrade of S&P, which means MOL also joins the illustrious club of fully investment grade issuers, yet another reflection of our resilient integrated business model and financial strength. We will continue to deliver strong results on the back of our high-quality, low-cost asset base, while our long-term 2030 strategy will transform MOL into a leading chemicals company and a major consumer and mobility services provider in CEE.”

For the recent interview with József Simola for CNBC about MOL’s industrial transformation, please visit: https://www.cnbc.com/video/2017/11/09/mol-group-cfo-jozsef-simola-on-building-electric-vehicle-chargers-in-eastern-europe.html

• The network of 222 fast chargers and 30 ultra-chargers for EV (Electric Vehicles) will connect six countries in CEE along main roads in the EU’s core transport network.
• The largest grant ever given by the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility for any EV project, amounts to EUR 18.84 million.
• The NEXT-E network will be interoperable within the participating countries and connected to EV networks in Western Europe in order to create one integrated EU-wide charging network.

Budapest, 9^th November 2017 – Today marks an important milestone in the e-mobility expansion in CEE and the future of European transportation. During the Digital Transport Days in Tallinn, MOL along with partners of the NEXT-E consortium signed a grant agreement with INEA which will enable the building of a charging network for EVs across six countries in Central and Eastern Europe: The Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia and Romania.

In July 2017, the NEXT-E project was selected by the European Commission for co-financing through the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). The NEXT-E consortium will be granted EUR 18.84 million to implement the project, which is the largest CEF grant ever awarded to an EV project. The NEXT-E project is a unique partnership of leading companies in the electricity and oil & gas sectors, as well as OEMs, who joined forces to create a charging network for electric vehicles along the main transport routes in Central and Eastern Europe. Besides MOL Group, the consortium consists of companies of E.ON Group, Hrvatska elektroprivreda in Croatia, PETROL (in Slovenia and Croatia), as well as Nissan and BMW.

Within the framework of this project, the consortium will install 222 multi-standard fast chargers (50 kW) and 30 ultra-chargers (150-350 kW) along the TEN-T corridors. The major part of the chargers will be located at MOL Group’s service stations in all six participating countries. For the first time ever long distance travel, based 100% on electricity, will be possible across six CEE countries, with connection to neighbouring countries.

Currently, EV charger deployments are scattered and often uncoordinated, posing a risk of overlaps or gaps in the network. The NEXT-E project was launched to address this challenge, and to create a continuous and cost-effective network that ensures the ability for long-distance and cross-border driving. The project will also leverage existing experience into countries without significant EV activities to date, such as Hungary and Romania. In order to ensure interoperability to the West and create a one fully connected network, the project will be coordinated with other ongoing CEF co-financed projects, i.e. ULTRA-E, EAST-E and FAST-E.

“Next-E is politically an essential innovation project, which took great efforts from industry and encouragement and support from the European Commission side to take place. In addition, the close collaboration with other neighbouring projects is evident, emphasising the maximizing European impact and dimension of the core network corridor policy. The objective of our policy is to finally allow citizens to travel with alternatively fueled vehicles across the entire EU.” - said Herald Ruijters, Director, DG MOVE, Directorate B - Investment, Innovative & Sustainable Transport, European Commission.

“I am proud that the EU and INEA will support a project that will kick off e-mobility in Central-Eastern Europe. With 252 electric charging points, 30 of which with very high capacity, the EU's core transport network will gain cross-border interoperability and a more open market for the benefit of consumers.” - said Dirk Beckers, Director of the Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA) at the grant agreement signature ceremony.

The deployment of fast chargers is expected to start in 2018, while the installation of the ultra-chargers is planned for 2019 in order to prepare for the arrival of a new generation of long-distance EVs. The full deployment is expected to be concluded by the end of 2020.

The NEXT-E project is another milestone in the implementation of MOL Group’s long-term strategy, which is built on the premise that fossil fuel will eventually lose its monopolistic dominance in transportation. As a consequence, MOL Group aims to adapt to the changing market dynamics by building on its 10 million customer base, and transforming its traditional fuel retailing into a broader consumer goods and services business. As part of its strategy, MOL aspires is to take part in the reinvention of transportation in CEE and embrace such trends as car sharing, e-mobility, self-driving technology as well as alternative fuels.

• CCS EBITDA of HUF 150bn (USD 576mn); on track to reach upgraded 2017 target (USD 2.3bn)
• Consumer Services with all-time high quarterly result
• Net profit for Q3 at HUF 47.7bn (USD 184mn), reaching HUF 230bn (USD 823mn) for Q1-Q3 period
• MOL Group launches DS 2022 program to deliver further USD 500mn EBITDA improvement with USD 2.1bn CAPEX

Budapest, 3^rd November, 2017 – Today, MOL Group announced its financial results for Q3 2017. With HUF 150bn (USD 576mn) delivered in the quarter, clean CCS EBITDA for the first nine months of the year is 12% up from last year and stands at HUF 520.8bn (USD 1.87bn). As CAPEX spending stood at USD 605mn after nine months, the company has continued to generate strong cash flows across all business segments.

Upstream delivered HUF 49.1bn (USD 188mn) EBITDA in Q3 with average daily production reaching 105,000 barrels of oil equivalent. Over the first nine months Upstream EBITDA grew by more than 30% compared to Q1-Q3 2016. The segment continued to generate strong free cash flows in 2017, USD 15 on average on each barrel produced. This was achieved at average Brent prices of USD 52 per barrel.

Downstream posted lower clean CCS EBITDA at HUF 70.5bn (USD 271mn) as both petrochemicals and refining contribution declined due to lower wholesale margins, lower own produced product sales and one offs. Downstream’s contribution for the first nine months remained flat at HUF 256.9bn (USD 923mn).

Consumer Services continued its impressive growth with its best ever quarterly results at HUF 34.5bn (USD 132mn) EBITDA, up from USD 112mn one year ago, as both fuel and non-fuel earnings continue to grow.

MOL Group has also launched its new Downstream program, DS2022, a major milestone in the implementation of the MOL 2030 strategy. The program is based on three pillars: strategic transformational projects; efficiency initiatives; and increasing customer satisfaction, safety and employee engagement in order to become the best choice of employees, customers and investors in line with the vision of MOL Group 2030 strategy. The program once again aims to deliver USD 500mn EBITDA improvement similarly to its predecessors the New Downstream Program (2012-2014) and the Next Downstream Program (2015-2017).

Chairman-CEO Zsolt Hernádi commented the results: “After the first nine months of the year we are well on track to deliver on our upgraded USD 2.3bn Clean CCS EBITDA guidance and on our MOL 2030 strategy.  We continue to generate robust free cash flows this year despite not fully capturing the opportunities of the supportive external environment in Q3. To achieve our strategic objectives we are now also launching Downstream 2022 (DS2022), a program of efficiency, transformation and growth, which would deliver USD 500mn additional EBITDA with substantial, over USD 2bn investments by 2022. The flagship transformational project of this program, the polyol project, is forging ahead as we have secured all the technological licenses and engineering resources.”

In accordance with the Articles of Association of SLOVNAFT, a.s., the Board of Directors at its meeting on 19 September 2017, discussed and accepted the resignation of Ábel Galácz, member of the Board of Directors. From this day, his membership in the Board of Directors was ended.

Ábel Galácz was member of the Board of Directors since April 2013.