Naftogaz signs memorandum with Hungary's MOL to build fuel storage near Ukrainian border
Ukraine's Naftogaz group signed a memorandum with Hungarian oil and gas company MOL to build oil-product storage facilities on Hungarian territory near the Ukrainian-Hungarian border for Ukraine's strategic fuel reserves. The deal was concluded at the Carpathian Economic Forum within the Carpathian Eight (C8) summit and announced on September 20 by acting Naftogaz board chairman Serhiy Fedorenko.
Key points
- Naftogaz signed a memorandum with Hungary's MOL to build oil-product storage facilities on Hungarian territory near the Ukrainian-Hungarian border.
- The memorandum was signed during the Carpathian Economic Forum within the Carpathian Eight (C8) summit; Fedorenko announced it on September 20.
- The facilities are intended to hold part of Ukraine's strategic fuel reserves outside the range of Russian strikes on Ukrainian fuel infrastructure.
- Fedorenko said diversifying supply routes and adding storage outside the shelling zone is a matter of stability for the entire fuel market given Russian attacks on Ukraine's fuel infrastructure.
- Fedorenko said the project would improve fuel-supply reliability for Ukrainian consumers and support mutually beneficial cross-border energy infrastructure between Ukraine and Hungary.
- The deal is part of a broader set of strategic initiatives Naftogaz signed at the C8 summit with energy companies from Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary, aimed at strengthening Ukraine's energy security ahead of winter.
Why it matters
The memorandum sets up infrastructure to hold part of Ukraine's strategic fuel reserves beyond the reach of Russian strikes on domestic fuel infrastructure. It treats cross-border energy cooperation with Hungary as a tool to stabilize the Ukrainian fuel market ahead of winter and is part of a broader package of strategic initiatives Naftogaz concluded at the C8 summit with energy companies from Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary. The project is also a concrete Ukrainian-Hungarian energy tie despite Hungary's continued purchases of Russian energy resources under its new government led by Péter Magyar.
What happened
Ukraine's Naftogaz group signed a memorandum with Hungarian oil and gas company MOL to build oil-product storage facilities on Hungarian territory near the Ukrainian-Hungarian border for Ukraine's strategic fuel reserves. The memorandum was signed during the Carpathian Economic Forum held within the Carpathian Eight (C8) summit on September 18. Acting Naftogaz board chairman Serhiy Fedorenko announced the deal on September 20, saying it would diversify supply routes, place reserves outside the zone of Russian strikes, and strengthen fuel-supply reliability for Ukrainian consumers. The agreement is part of a wider set of strategic initiatives Naftogaz signed at the C8 summit with leading energy companies from Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary, aimed at strengthening Ukraine's energy security ahead of the winter period and building a basis for long-term regional cooperation in the oil and gas sector.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Ukrainian sources center the story on acting Naftogaz board chairman Serhiy Fedorenko as the named speaker announcing the memorandum. The framing links the deal directly to ongoing Russian attacks on Ukrainian fuel infrastructure and to the need to keep strategic reserves outside the strike zone, presenting it as preparation for the coming winter. Coverage frames the agreement as part of the President-initiated Carpathian Eight format and emphasizes mutual benefit for Ukraine and Hungary, including the development of cross-border energy infrastructure.
Where reporting differs
Sources report different totals for projects announced at the Carpathian Economic Forum: some cite roughly 50 investment and trade projects in the oil-and-gas, energy, infrastructure, and cultural sectors totaling over €1 billion (attributed to Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhiy Koretsky), while others cite a joint C8 investment portfolio of 95 projects worth approximately €40 billion.
Background
The Carpathian Eight (C8) format, comprising Ukraine, Romania, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Austria, and Serbia, was announced by President Volodymyr Zelensky. The C8 summit and the Carpathian Economic Forum took place on September 18, and Naftogaz's memorandum with MOL was announced on September 20. Russia has systematically attacked Ukraine's fuel infrastructure since the start of the full-scale invasion, including a large campaign in March–April 2022 and, in 2026, a focus on logistics and retail infrastructure with hundreds of filling stations damaged or destroyed. Ukrainian legislation allows part of the strategic fuel reserve to be stored abroad, but practical use of this mechanism has been limited by reservoir availability, logistics, and storage rules. Hungary has had a new government under Péter Magyar since May, replacing Viktor Orbán; Hungary has not abandoned purchases of Russian energy resources, though its Minister of Economy and Energy has said the country can meet its gas needs without Russian supplies until October 2027 and is negotiating new gas import routes and LNG purchases.