Dr. Simon Papp (Kapnikbánya, then Hungary, recent Romania, Cavnic, February 14, 1886 – Budapest, July 27, 1970) was a geologist, university professor, and the first Hungarian chief executive of the first oil industry’s company in Hungary. In 1945, he became a corresponding member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and from 1946 to 1949 a full member. He served as president of the Hungarian Geological Society from 1941 to 1944 and of the National Hungarian Mining and Metallurgical Society from 1944 to 1948. He was also a member of the Hungarian Academy of Natural Sciences and was elected honorary president of the Hungarian-American Chamber of Commerce.

He completed his secondary education in Nagybánya (then Hungary, recent Romania, Baia Mare) and studied at the university in Kolozsvár (then Hungary, recent Romania, Cluj-Napoca).

1909, he earned his PhD in mineralogy, geology and general geography and soon became the first assistant lecturer at the University of Kolozsvár, Department of Mineralogy and Geology, under Professor Gyula Szádeczky-Kardoss.

In 1911, Dr. Hugó Böckh invited him to work as assistant lecturer at the Department of Geology and Stratigraphy of the Mining and Forestry Academy in Selmecbánya (then Hungary, recent Slovakia, Banska Stavnica).

In 1915, he was appointed geological engineer at the Research Mining Office in Kolozsvár. At the same time, on Böckh’s behalf, he carried out geological surveys in various parts of the country.

In 1916, he was transferred to Budapest to the Royal Hungarian Ministry of Finance, Mining Division.

In 1918, he was promoted first to chief geological engineer, then by the end of the year to mining councillor and chief engineer. The discovery of natural gas in Transylvania sparked his interest in hydrocarbons. As Hugó Böckh’s first associate, he played an active role in the exploration and exploitation of the Transylvanian gas fields, the oil field of Egbell, and the Bujevac gas field in Croatia. His duties also included coal and ore geology. Böckh entrusted Papp and Dr. Ferenc Pávai Vajna with investigating the continuation of Croatian folds in the Zala region of Transdanubia.

After the Treaty of Trianon (signed June 4, 1920) he left state service. Following his work in petrology and geological mapping, he turned to mining research and, above all, hydrocarbon exploration. Between 1920 and 1932, he worked for the subsidiaries of the London-based Anglo-Persian Oil Company Ltd. as chief geologist, consulting geologist, and senior geologist. He explored for hydrocarbons in Yugoslavia, Albania, Turkey, New Guinea, Canada, the United States and Germany. The valuable experience he gained during these twelve years made him a respected and well-regarded geologist.

In 1933, he returned permanently to Hungary. Alongside Ferenc Böhm, he played a major role in securing a concession contract between the Hungarian Ministry of Finance and the English-American owned European Gas and Electric Company (EUROGASCO). Signed on July 8, 1933, the contract granted EUROGASCO exploration rights across Transdanubia. From the start, Dr. Papp directed exploration as EUROGASCO’s chief geologist. After completing the modern exploratory surveys, the first test drilling was launched near Mihályi using the most advanced drilling method of the time – a rotary drilling rig with mud circulation. In 1935, the Mihályi-1 borehole revealed 95% pure carbon dioxide. Subsequent boreholes at Görgeteg and Inke uncovered only traces of oil and combustible mixed gas. On March 5, 1937, he designated the site for Lispe-2, which went into production on November 21, 1937, yielding industrial quantities of crude oil. This date is regarded as the beginning of the modern Hungarian hydrocarbon industry.

Following these two successful wells, the first Hungarian oil company, the Hungarian-American Oil Company (MAORT), was founded on July 15, 1938. Dr. Papp was its chief geologist, and from December 15, 1941, its vice president and managing director. He held this position until the end of December 1947, when MAORT retired him as of January 1, 1948, though he continued assisting its research as a consultant. Thanks to subsequent discoveries,by 1940, domestic oil production met 100% of Hungary’s oil demand. On December 20, 1941, MAORT’s facilities were placed under treasury control after Hungary entered World War II. Between 1940 and 1944, he directed natural gas exploration in Northern Transylvania (then Hungary) where 31 wells were drilled. After the war, MAORT resumed production on April, 1945, at different locations.

In 1944, Papp was appointed professor at the newly established Department of Oil Exploration and Production at the Royal József Nádor University of Technology and Economics, Faculty of Mining, Metallurgy and Forestry, in Sopron. Due to wartime

events, he could only start teaching in 1947–48, but he still became the first lecturer on oil mining in Hungary.

In 1948, verified by fabricated charges, the MAORT facilities were nationalized. Dr. Papp was the main defendant in the MAORT trial, in which the authorities sought to prove that he and his colleagues sabotaged production and conspired to overthrow the political regime. He was sentenced to death, later commuted to life imprisonment. During his years in prison, he was repeatedly assigned to geological tasks in oil, coal, ore, and hydrogeology. Released from political imprisonment in 1955, he then came to know that his wife had already passed away. Until his retirement in 1962, he worked as a geological engineer at the National Oil and Gas Trust. He supplemented his humble pension with occasional lectures and papers.

During his lifetime, his rehabilitation could not be came about despite efforts by many respected scientists. In 1957, the Hungarian Academy of Sciences awarded him the Doctor of Earth and Mineral Sciences degree in recognition of his scholarly achievements. His health and eyesight deteriorated rapidly. He passed away in Budapest on July 27, 1970.

The Hungarian Academy of Sciences rehabilitated him in 1987. In 1990 he was posthumously awarded the Széchenyi Prize, received by the Hungarian Oil Industry Museum. On November 25, 1991, the ashes of Dr. Simon Papp and his wife were laid to rest at his bust in the sculpture park of the Hungarian Oil Industry Museum in Zalaegerszeg.

In 2018, the National Heritage Institute declared his grave a National Memorial Site.

Compiled by: Hungarian Oil and Gas Industry Museum, István Simon