Hungarian oil and gas firm MOL is considering expansion in western Europe and the eastern Mediterranean region and has looked at a deal in Canada, the firm's head of strategy said on Wednesday.
MOL said in April it had up to $3 billion to make acquisitions, adding that its main targets remained in Croatia, Serbia and Russia.
Akos Kassai, MOL's head of strategy, told a conference on Wednesday the firm had to think beyond eastern European, where it already has several subsidiaries such as Slovnaft in Slovakia and a stake in Croatia's INA.
"The company has reached the stage of development, and the market realities also dictate that we can expand this circle and think wider," Kassai said.
"On the one hand eastern Europe, which means Russia and Ukraine. On the other hand western Europe, Austria, southern Germany and northern Italy. Thirdly this entails the eastern Mediterranean, Greece, Turkey and Sicily," he added.
He also said MOL had looked at an investment opportunity in Canada, without elaborating.
Expansion is essential for MOL to help keep its independence, he said. "Those companies which are listed and which did not grow and did not rush forward became the target of buyouts," Kassai said.
(Reuters, 06/06/2007)