Hungarian oil and gas group MOL will focus on investing in propylene and derivatives in the next five years as part of its long-term plan to become a leading player in central and eastern Europe. The group has earmarked up to $1.9 billion until 2021 to develop its petrochemicals business, with a focus on improving propylene yield and investing in “attractive” derivatives, such as propylene oxide-based polyols used in the automotive, packaging and furniture industries.

To this end, MOL said it will invest more than $500 million into its steam crackers in Hungary and Slovakia, as it strives to become the region’s sole fully integrated supplier. It added that further investments are being planned for “another possible product entry”, but gave no more details.

The company currently operates two crackers at Tiszaujvaros, Hungary, with an approximate combined capacity of 660,000 t/y ethylene and 335,000 t/y propylene. Its Slovnaft subsidiary in Bratislava, Slovakia, produces around 220,000 t/y ethylene and 135,000 t/y propylene, with another 50,000 t/y of propylene available from an adjacent refinery.

Upstream, MOL plans to invest around $80-130 million in its refineries in Hungary and Slovakia to take advantage of growing demand for profitable products such as jet fuel, lubricants and base oil, while also increasing propylene feedstock for its petrochemical plants.