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

László Paczuk: EUROGASCO and MAORT's Production Methods

Factors fundamentally influencing MAOKT'sproduction Over the course of the better part of MAORT's existence, there were a number of significant factors that plaved a role in the development of production, which would not have had any bearing among normal political, social, and economical circumstances, or at least their impact would have been considerably less. As war conditions set in, the Hungarian government placed MAORT into treasury use as of December 23,1941. On the one hand, this hindered capital flow substantially, nevertheless the secret political goal that dominated Hungary's political elite was to foil Germany, at least to a certain degree, in it's efforts to take MAORT oyer as its prey.

63 Despite this, German pressure for increasing the oil raffinate volumes was continuous throughout the war, and this resulted in growing demand for crude oil.

64 Restrictions impacting materials and equipment procurement was a constant feature, and it meant that MAORT was unable to obtain American-made equipment which would have been necessary for improving exploration and production, as well as for conserving the condition of existing assets. Instead, only weaker quality Western European - predominantly German assets of lower technical standard were available, and efforts were made to manufacture at least some of the equipment in the scope of the domestic engineering industry.

65 During the summer of 1944, bombing raids targeted MAORT's facilities as well/'

6 Despite camouflaging, the Bázakerettye gasoline compound's facilities took serious damage. Although the Germans' plan - according to which means of production were to have been evacuated in full - proved unsuccessful, a significant number of machinery and assets ended up heading west nonetheless, and MAORT only managed to recover at least a part of these many years after the war. Substantial political influence characterised the postwar period yet again. A series of demands for increasing production was constantly on the agenda, the objective of which was to create the material basis for war reparation demands, moreover to set the economy on a course of recovery.

6 Production problems were further intensified by low crude prices, the occasional insolvency of refineries, as well as materials and equipment procurement related problems.

68 We all know that ultimately this lead straight to MAORT's show trial in 1949, similarly to events unfolding in other industries of strategic importance at the time. Today it is completely clear that the lifespan of a field, and ultimate oil recovery greatly depends on production rates being in optimal alignment with the processes playing out in the formation. If we look at the figures concerning field water saturation, as well as how GORs developed (table no. 10.), then the degree to which the political power structure's demands with respect to increasing production were chimerical, particularly after the war, becomes obvious. " SRÁGLI 1998 52 ''' SRÁGLI 1998 58-63 ' BUDA-KOVÁCS 198

V 81-91 «' BUDA-KOVÁCS 198" 81-91 57 SRÁGLI 1998 83-92 - SRÁGLI 2008 115