Hungarian oil group MOL sold 47,369 of its own shares on the Budapest Stock Exchange on Thursday, it said on Friday, raising about 675 mln forints ($3.57 million) to help finance a gas project in Iraq.

The shares were sold at an average price of 14,255 forints, MOL said in a statement on the Budapest Stock Exchange's www.bet.hu homepage. After the transactions it held 7.5 million own shares.

MOL said on Thursday that it would sell up to 80,000 own shares up to Oct. 15 because it would at least partially finance its 2009 part in a natural gas project in Iraq.

MOL shares closed at 14,255 forints on Thursday. ($1=188.93 Hungarian Forint) (Reporting by Sandor Peto; Editing by Hans Peters)

Iraq Investment