MOL to Enter Oil Exploration in Libya in JV with Repsol, TPAO

Hungarian oil and gas group MOL, the largest shareholder in Croatian oil company INA, said it has further expanded its international portfolio by entering Libya through a successful joint bidding with Spain's Repsol and Turkey's state-owned Türkiye Petrolleri (TPAO) for an offshore exploration area in the Mediterranean Sea.

“In the joint venture, Repsol will be the operator of the project with 40% share, TPAO also holds 40% and MOL Group enters the project with a 20% share,” MOL said in a press release on Wednesday. It did not disclose financial details of the deal.

In March 2025, Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) reopened its first licensing round in 17 years, offering 22 exploration areas. Repsol, MOL and TPAO submitted a joint bid for the O7 offshore block and won the right to conduct hydrocarbon exploration.

MOL Group's international portfolio includes oil and gas exploration and production assets in nine countries, with production in eight countries: Croatia, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Russia, Pakistan, Egypt and Hungary.

MOL owns 49.08% of the share capital of Croatia's INA. INA's shares closed 2.04% higher at 500 euro (US$592.80) on the Zagreb bourse on Wednesday.