Cseh Valentin szerk.: „70 éve alakult a MAORT” – tanulmányok egy bányavállalat történetéből (2009)

Lajos Srágli: Hungary's Economy, Politics and MAORT

during the subsequent years as well, predicting - as it were - the significant role that Zala oil would play in Hungarian and European politics later on. 141 The first stage of MAORT's activities (July 18,1938 - December 20,1941) among the turmoils of domestic and international affairs shows close to uninterrupted development compared to circumstances. While the fate of Europe was defined by forces in favour of war, MAORT's management looked after the company's affairs. Production kept on increasing in this period; the organisational and operational system that only underwent minor modification until the end of the war took shape for the most part. MAORT was not, however, able to remove itself from the effects of the international and domestic political situation either, particularly because it was producing the raw material - oil - without which mechanised war was not possible. The country's internal economic and political conditions did not give occasion for optimism: MAORT was also declared a war plant as a result of Act II of 1939, it was obliged to continue its activity and its personnel was placed under military command

—although surely enough this was only validated on formal terms for the time being. As of this time, the Ministry of Industry' efforts for putting crude oil production in governmental control became more and more intensive.

142 In his address at the House of Representatives in Parliament on November 16, 1939, Minister of Industry, József Varga was still cautious in his wording: "If we succeed in finding another oil region, we can set our economy's life on a course of intensive motorisation, and then we will be able to talk about also making deliveries of various distillate oils abroad."

143 His hopes were already realised in 1941: the country's crude oil production exceeded its her consumption of around 300 thousand tons by some one-hundred thousand tons. While production at the Budafapuszta oilfield was continuous, work kept on for discovering newer oilfields. The first well drilled at the Lovászi dome produced gas and oil. Its regular working commenced on December 1, 1940. In 1942, the volume of crude oil production at Lovászi already exceeded that at Budafapuszta. Further prospecting did not go fully without success either: although the discovery of an oilfield comparable in size to Budafapuszta and Lovászi did not happen, two smaller oilfields were discovered in 1941, one of them quite close to Lovászi - Lendvaújfalu - and the other in the Hahót formation, on the outskirts of Pusztaszentlászló.

144 MAORT's crude oil production already covered the country's entire domestic demand in 1940, by 1941 they were producing enough oil to allow for exporting one-third of production over and above providing for the needs of the country's finally enlarged area. In 1944 this proportion increased to close to 50%.

141 Keeping business calm involved ever increasing difficulty in the period that followed the outbreak of World War Two, and this led to contradictions in the company's life as well. For the most part, these stemmed from the desire to protect the oilfields and American assets from German influence, yet there was no intent to miss out on the greater sales opportunities resulting from war conditions. While objecting to any and all external intervention in the company's life, and 141 MOIM Arch. PS., Weekly reports from the years between 1938-1944 l4J MOIM Arch., PS. 37/2. 141 Session 52 of Parliament's Mouse of Representatives. Képviselőházi Értesítő, 1939. 106. 144 PAPP 1965, 89.; LAKLIA 2006., 24 w- GYULAY 1942., furthermore: MAORT weekly reports, 1941-1944