Hungary and Romania Refinery Fire: Sabotage or Negligence?

IMAGE: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán (Created by Author – Source: Thierry Charlier/AFP via Getty Images)

On Monday, explosions were reported at an oil refinery in Hungary and another in Romania. The initial explosion occurred at the Petrotel-Lukoil refinery located in Ploieşti, Romania, followed by a second fire and subsequent explosions at the AV3 plant of MOL’s Danube refinery in Százhalombatta, Hungary. The timing of the two events quickly raised suspicions of potential sabotage, yet no evidence of nefarious activities has been reported in the Hungarian press. Earlier this year, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó accused Ukraine of striking an “important distribution station” on the Druzhba pipeline in Russia’s Bryansk Oblast. describing these attacks are part of a sustained campaign by Brussels and Kyiv over the past three years to entangle Hungary in the war in Ukraine. 

IMAGE: Danube Refinery started its operation in 1965 in Százhalombatta. The refinery belongs to MOL Plc, which is one of the largest refineries in the Central and Eastern European region with a refining capacity of 165,000 barrels per day  (Source: MOL)

The criminal department of the Pest County Police Headquarters has initiated an investigation into the fire that broke out at MOL’s Százhalombatta refinery on Monday evening. However, there are currently no suspects identified, and the authorities have launched proceedings against X for negligent endangerment. On Tuesday, the Hungarian multinational oil and gas company MOL conducted an extraordinary press conference during which they affirmed that no explosion occurred at the Százhalombatta plant, only reporting a fire. At the press conference, Krisztián Pulay, MOL Group downstream production and development SVP, dismisses any external interference or links between the Százhalombatta fire and the explosion at the Petrotel-Lukoil refinery in Romania. MOL emphasised that Hungary’s fuel supply is secure, and the essential steps for restoration have already been set in motion.

The most recent incident at Mol’s Százhalombatta refinery occurred in July this year, when black smoke billowed from the plant. At the time, officials stated that a malfunctioning technological device was responsible for the incident.

VIDEO: Initial bursts of fire at the Százhalombatta oil refinery in Hungary were spotted on Monday night by a webcam positioned at the Időkép Tököl airport, which faces the site. (Source: Időkép)

The Százhalombatta refinery plays a crucial role in the fuel networks of Hungary and Central Europe, processing crude oil supplied through the Druzhba oil pipeline from Russia. Since mid-2025, Péter Szijjártó, the Hungarian Foreign Minister, has blamed Ukraine, accusing Kiev of targeting this critical infrastructure, one of the largest crude oil pipeline networks in the World, disrupting supplies and calling the attack “outrageous and unacceptable”. The southern branch of the 5500 km pipeline runs through Ukraine, dividing in Uzhgorod into Druzhba 1, which goes to Slovakia, and Druzhba 2, which goes to Hungary. Following similar previous attacks on the pipeline, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán warned that Hungary has the capability to paralyse Ukraine in just one day by halting electricity supplies.

IMAGE: Mapping the locations of Romania’s Petrotel-Lukoil in Ploiesti and Hungary’s MOL Danube Refinery in Szazhalombatta (Source: Rybar)

The ongoing inquiries into the reasons behind the fire at MOL’s Danube refinery in Százhalombatta, are anticipated to be clarified by the investigation; however, should it be revealed that a malicious act of sabotage occurred, questions will quickly emerge regarding the possible motive and the usual qui bono inquiries, which are crucial for identifying who stands to gain from undermining Hungary’s energy security. Although there is significant evidence that coordinated political, legal, and financial attacks are being directed at Budpaest from Brussels, we cannot ignore Hungary’s recent strategic moves in the regional energy sector and dismiss other avenues of inquiry.

In an interview with Bloomberg on the side of the EU foreign ministers’ meeting in Luxembourg on Monday, Szijjártó stated that Hungary does not plan to obstruct the EU’s 19th sanctions package against Russia due to the ongoing war in Ukraine. Nevertheless, he stated that Hungary is contemplating legal measures concerning the REPowerEU energy initiatives after EU member states reached a consensus to endorse a ban on Russian gas purchases until the end of 2027. The Hungarian Foreign Minister expressed in a Facebook post that the EU, which accuses Hungary of funding Russia’s war efforts, is jeopardizing Hungary’s energy security. He also pointed out that Hungary’s expenditures on Russian oil and natural gas account for only about 0.2 percent of Russia’s GDP.

Furthermore, in September, the Hungarian Foreign Minister revealed an agreement that enables MOL, a key player in the Hungarian economy whose refinery in Százhalombatta was the subject of an attack on Monday, to kick off two new production projects in Azerbaijan as the primary stakeholder. He also pointed out that in recent years, the MVM Group, a significant entity in the Hungarian energy sector, along with MOL, had secured a stake in Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz gas field, recognized as one of the largest and most crucial oil and gas fields in the world. As a result, MVM successfully entered the international market with 382 million cubic meters of its own gas within just four months, while MOL’s five million barrels of oil, representing 15 percent of its total hydrocarbon output, are sourced from Azerbaijan. In May 2025, Hungary’s two largest energy firms, the MOL Group and the MVM Group, established an oil trading agreement designed to further diversify the energy supply portfolio of the region, particularly focusing on landlocked Hungary and Slovakia. This collaboration allows MOL to significantly boost the volume of alternative crude oil processed in its refineries by as much as 160,000 tonnes annually. For MOL, processing crude oil from its own field signifies a new and important milestone for the company, promising substantial financial benefits.

Since 2022, Ukraine’s credibility has been eroded as its military intelligence apparatus has been repeatedly linked to sabotage operations targeting Russian refining and energy facilities deep in the heart of Russian territory. Meanwhile, German prosecutors seem convinced that Ukrainian divers played a role in the Nord Stream sabotage. Coincidentally, the Novokuybyshevsk refinery, located in Russia’s Volga region and operated by Rosneft ceased its primary crude processing last Sunday following a Ukrainian drone strike.

It was predictable that this recent incident in Romania would spark all sorts of theories pointing the finger at the EU, NATO, Russia, Ukraine, CIA and MI6, as suspicion quickly emerged partly because, shortly before the events in Hungary, a major explosion rattled the Ploiești refinery in Romania. The refinery stands as one of the largest in the country, boasting a capacity exceeding 2.5 million tonnes. Officials are exploring every avenue, even the disturbing possibility that the incident could be a deliberate act.

While discussions about the cancellation of the Trump-Putin summit in Hungary continue, Europe has yet to improve its stance towards Russia in an effort to bring about peace in Ukraine. Many will find it difficult to overlook the fact that Western intelligence agencies, particularly from the UK and the US, have reportedly played a key role in Ukraine’s covert and clandestine operations for many years. Additionally, it is worth noting that four out of five barrels processed at the Százhalombatta refinery in Hungary derive from Russian oil.

It is reasonable to assume that in this highly charged geopolitical context, the Hungarian investigation will be conducted thoroughly and, if needed, seek justice on behalf of the Hungarian people.

Joakim Scheffer reports for the Hungaria Conservative…

Explosions at Oil Refineries in Hungary, Romania Spark Sabotage Suspicions

Two Russian-linked oil refineries—Lukoil’s Petrotel plant in Romania and MOL’s Százhalombatta facility in Hungary—were rocked by explosions on Monday, halting operations. Authorities have yet to identify an official cause, but the near-simultaneous incidents have fuelled speculation of Ukrainian sabotage amid Kyiv’s ongoing drone and pipeline attacks on Russian energy infrastructure.

Explosions shook a Hungarian and a Romanian oil refinery on Monday, 20 October. Investigations are underway in both cases, and many circumstances remain unknown.

The first explosion hit the Petrotel-Lukoil refinery in Ploieşti, Romania, at about 11.30am local time on Monday. Media reports say the blast occurred in the industrial sewerage system, with the hatch of a sewerage well being ejected during maintenance work. At the time, the refinery platform was undergoing a major shutdown for repairs. The Petrotel-Lukoil plant is one of Romania’s largest oil-processing facilities and is owned by the Russian company Lukoil.

The second, similar incident occurred on Monday evening at MOL’s refinery in Százhalombatta, Hungary. Officials said the fire was contained by Tuesday morning, but operations were still suspended and investigations were continuing; the primary cause of the explosion remained unknown at the time of writing. The Százhalombatta refinery is a key node in both the Hungarian and Central European fuel networks, processing crude delivered via the Druzhba pipeline from Russia. Oil refined at Százhalombatta supplies mainly domestic markets but also, in significant quantities, Slovakia.

In 24 hours, serious incidents occurred at two oil refineries: on Monday night a fire broke out at the MOL plant in Százhalombatta (Hungary), and several hours earlier an explosion shook the Petrotel–Lukoil refinery in Romania.

The MOL plant, which is the largest and most modern… pic.twitter.com/xghOedeXP5

— Anatolij Sharij (@anatoliisharii) October 21, 2025

War on Energy

The timing of the two incidents immediately fuelled suspicion of possible sabotage. On Monday, EU energy ministers backed the European Commission’s proposal to phase out Russian energy from member states’ energy mixes by 2028. Under the plan—which will next be submitted to the European Parliament for approval—EU imports of Russian gas, LNG, and nuclear-sourced electricity would be prohibited for member states. However, some landlocked countries, such as Hungary and Slovakia, which remain dependent on Russian pipeline oil due to geography and infrastructure constraints, would be granted limited exemptions.

Ukraine is also pressuring European countries, particularly Hungary, to phase out Russian oil imports. Kyiv has repeatedly targeted the Druzhba pipeline in recent years, provoking tense exchanges between Hungarian and Ukrainian officials; Hungary even banned the commander of the unit responsible for these strikes from entering the country.

“Ukraine has also been implicated in sabotage attacks on Russian energy infrastructure in allied countries”

Since mid-2025, Ukraine has also waged a sustained campaign of long-range drone strikes against Russian refining and energy infrastructure deep inside Russian territory. Analysts credit these attacks with knocking out up to 17 per cent of Russia’s refining capacity (around 1.2 million barrels per day) in August, rising to roughly 21 per cent (about 1.4 million b/d) by the end of the month. The strikes created production bottlenecks, caused domestic fuel shortages in Russia, pushed gasoline prices higher, and significantly reduced Russia’s fuel exports—eroding an important revenue stream for Moscow.

Ukraine has also been implicated in sabotage attacks on Russian energy infrastructure in allied countries. Recently, Warsaw rejected the extradition of a Ukrainian citizen accused of involvement in the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines. A Polish court turned down the German request, saying the charges were ‘too general’ and that the incident occurred in ‘international waters’—a ruling some observers framed in the context of a ‘just war’.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk argued that extradition would not be ‘in Poland’s national interest,’ noting that, in his view, the problem for Europe, Ukraine, Lithuania, and Poland is not that Nord Stream 2 was blown up but that it was built in the first place. The statement provoked outrage: Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó called it ‘scandalous’, writing on X that ‘According to Poland, if you don’t like infrastructure in Europe, you can blow it up. With this, they gave advance permission for terrorist attacks in Europe. Poland has not only released but is celebrating a terrorist.’

Scandalous: according to Poland, if you don’t like an infrastructure in Europe, you can blow it up. With this, they gave advance permission for terrorist attacks in Europe. Poland has not only released but is celebrating a terrorist—this is what European rule of law has come to. https://t.co/4JI3N6GAJ0

— Péter Szijjártó (@FM_Szijjarto) October 17, 2025

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Source: https://21stcenturywire.com/2025/10/23/hungary-and-romania-refinery-fire-sabotage-or-negligence/