The high surface area MgOs (330 and 500 m(2) g(-1)) were studied as supports of Mo and CoMo hydrodesulfurization catalysts. New preparation methods based on impregnation of the supports with methanolic solution of MoO2- and Co- acetylacetonates or dimethylsulfoxide solutions of various Mo and Co compounds with chelating agent nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) were compared with previously reported method methanol-assisted spreading. The most active CoMo/MgO catalysts exhibited 3.3-fold activities in hydrodesulfurization of benzothiophene as the reference industrial CoMo/Al2O3 catalyst. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.