Established in Hungary in 2007, MET Group has built up its business presence through subsidiaries primarily in the Central and Eastern European region (Austria, Croatia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia). Today the Group is active in the gas markets of 19 countries. This year saw the founding of MET Vostok, with a representative office in Moscow, and MET Turkey, based in Istanbul.
“The Caspian region and the Middle East are important new sources to supply gas to Europe. While natural gas production is in decline in Europe, demand for imports is on the rise, with Russia being still one of the largest suppliers,” MET Turkey chief executive Attila Szaniszló said. Diversifying both sources and routes is therefore crucial to ensure the security of supplies. The Caspian region and the Middle East have sufficient reserves of competitive natural gas, although infrastructure is not yet fully developed.
Turkey’s strategic role is highlighted by its dual status as both a market and a hub acting as a link between new sources and Europe, a major consumer. Gas consumption in Turkey has risen sharply in recent years.
In addition to natural gas, MET’s Russian subsidiary also trades in crude oil, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and refined products. “Russia is the biggest producer of these commodities, and MET, as an energy trader, believes that it is essential to build a strong partnership with local energy producers,” MET Vostok CEO Alexander Pankratov explained. Representatives of the Russian subsidiary regularly consult with decision makers of these energy producers, which offers them the opportunity, among other things, to showcase MET Group’s international business activities.
MET Group is currently present in 10 countries (Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Switzerland, Turkey and the UK) through subsidiaries. It is active in the gas markets of 19 countries, generating a total revenue of nearly €4 billion in 2014. MET is listed in the top three traders in Austria’s VTP gas exchange, the biggest gas exchange in Central Europe, and it is among the top 15 in the Dutch TTF, the largest gas exchange in Continental Europe.
(Note: In 2021, the Russian subsidiary was closed.)