Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on October 30 that the government did not rule out the possibility that the fire at the MOL refinery in Szazhalombatta could be an external attack. Mr. Orban made this statement after a meeting with Home Secretary Sandor Pinter to update the initial investigation results.
Last night, I received a report from the Minister of Home Affairs about the incident at the refinery in Szazhalombatta. The investigation is still ongoing. It is not yet clear whether this was an accident, a technical incident or an external attack, Prime Minister Orban wrote on Facebook.
According to him, the MOL refinery - which specializes in processing crude oil imported from Russia - is one of the five most important strategic industrial facilities in Hungary. This facility takes on most of the crude oil processing activities for the domestic market and other Central European countries.
Mr. Orban also mentioned the eye-catching statement of the Polish Foreign Minister, who had previously advised Ukraine to collision the Druzhba oil pipeline. Lets hope that doesnt happen, the Hungarian leader added, implying concerns about energy security in the region.
After the fire, gasoline prices in Hungary have increased rapidly. Prime Minister Orban said he had directed Economic Minister Marton Nagy to work with the board of MOL Group, demanding that businesses not compensate for damages by raising fuel prices for consumers.
The fire at the MOL refinery broke out in the early morning of October 21, in the town of Szazhalombatta, about 30km south of the capital Budapest, on the banks of the Danube River. This is a key facility of MOL Group, responsible for supplying the majority of gasoline to Hungary, Slovakia and some neighboring countries. After the fire, the output here has decreased significantly.
Hungarian authorities said the cause of the incident is still under investigation, but suspicions of sabotage have quickly emerged, especially in the context of Ukraine having carried out many missile and drone attacks on the infrastructure of the Druzhba pipeline - a key oil transport route from Russia to Hungary and Slovakia.
Ukraine and the European Union (EU) have recently continuously pressured Hungary and Slovakia to stop using Russian oil and gas, considering this a necessary step to "depend on energy" in Moscow.
However, Prime Minister Orban has repeatedly affirmed that Hungary cannot abandon its Russian energy supply in the near future, as a condition to ensure national energy security and economic stability.
