Europe, increasingly focused on renewable energy sources, has recorded a sharp drop in internal oil production. However, a country in the center of the European continent is standing out with consecutive discoveries of new oil fields and expressive growth in extraction.
European production in decline
According to the European Environment Agency, oil production in the European Union represents less than 1% of world production and is far below the bloc’s energy needs.
This external dependence has been accentuated, especially after the war in Ukraine, which has forced European countries to urgently diversify their suppliers.
According to the same source, most known reserves are declining and incentives for decarbonization make significant investments difficult in new extraction projects.
The Hungarian exception
In this context, Hungary emerges as an exception. In 2024, the country exceeded, for the first time in two decades, the mark of one million tons of gross oil produced.
According to the Spanish Economic Journal, production reached 1.056 million tons, an increase of 13% over the previous year and 20% compared to 2020.
Although this production cover only about 15% of Hungarian domestic consumption, it represents a strategic advance in the search for energy autonomy.
New energy fields to emerge
Much of the growth is due to the activity of the company Mol, the country’s main energy operator. According to the same source, the company leads several exploration operations, including the discovery of a field next to the Drava River in southern Hungary – one of the most important of the last three decades.
More recently, Mol announced another finding in the Somogysámson area in the west of the country. According to the publication, this reserve may generate up to 1,200 barrels of raw per day. Explorations are also ongoing in the regions of Vecsés and Tura.
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Extended investment until 2029
Mol currently operates about 1,300 wells in this European country, between oil and natural gas. According to the eleconomist, the company plans to invest about 150 billion Hungarian Florins (approximately 375 million euros) by 2029, with the aim of expanding production and modernizing national energy infrastructure.
In 2024, mol accounted for 47% of national oil production (about 600,000 tons) and almost 90% of the extracted natural gas, whose volume increased by 7% compared to 2023.
Autonomy as a priority
According to the newspaper, this growth has been accompanied by a government narrative focused on energy security. Hungary seeks to reduce external dependence at a time when the geopolitical context imposes greater resilience and internal response capacity.
The Hungarian government has publicly reinforced the importance of increasing its own energy production as a way to stabilize prices and ensure supply, even in international crisis scenarios.
Limited but symbolic European impact
Although the scale of Hungarian production is modest in global terms, its example has symbolic and strategic value.
On the European continent, where most countries have gradually abandoned oil exploration, Hungary bets on strengthening internal production while maintaining compromises with environmental goals.
The coexistence between the expansion of hydrocarbons and the requirements of the energy transition raises questions about the balance between safety, sustainability and energy sovereignty-a debate that promises to intensify in the coming years.
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