Hungary and Romania Refinery Fire: Sabotage or Negligence?

by 21st Century Wire Global Affairs

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. In August, 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. Last week, prosecutors from Germany requested that the district court in Warsaw, Poland, extradite Volodymyr Zhuravlov, a Ukrainian citizen they suspect is connected to the Nord Stream sabotage that occurred in September 2022 in the Baltic Sea. However, the Polish judge denied the request and released Zhuravlov. Sabotage is undoubtedly on the rise in this region, and so far, terrorists have evaded justice.

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.

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.

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.