MOL, Gazprom agree terms for sale of NIS, Serbia to increase stake by 5%, UAE to join deal
MOSCOW. Jan 19 (Interfax) - Gazprom and Hungary's MOL have agreed on the key terms of an agreement to sell shares in Serbia's NIS, which will be submitted to the U.S. administration for a decision, Serbian TV channel RTS quoted Serbian Energy Minister Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic as saying.
Djedovic Handanovic said Serbia had managed to improve its position and would be able to increase its stake in NIS by 5% in future.
She also said regarding partners from the United Arab Emirates that they, too, were expected to join the future purchase agreement, and that the deadline for negotiations on this matter was March 24. It was previously reported that the state-owned ADNOC from the UAE was in talks to purchase NIS shares.
Djedovic Handanovic said MOL had committed not to close the Pancevo Oil Refinery, but to maintain the current level of production and increase it as the need arises.
She said the agreement would enable Serbia to "increase our stake in Serbia's oil industry by 5% in the future and hold enough shares to give us broader decision-making rights at shareholder meetings and, above all, safeguard the interests of our citizens."
The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has extended the license permitting NIS shareholders to negotiate the sale of the Russian stake until March 24. Currently, the main co-owners of NIS are Gazprom Neft with 44.85% and the Serbian authorities with 29.87%, while another 11.3% of NIS shares belong to JSC Intelligence, which is managed by Gazprom Capital LLC. Gazprom directly owns one NIS share, and the Serbian company has minority shareholders, as well.
Handanovic said following a meeting with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto last week that Serbia and Hungary hoped to reach an agreement before long on Hungary's MOL buying the Russian stake in NIS.
NIS was included in the U.S. SDN List in early 2025. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said at the time that the U.S. was demanding that Serbia completely remove Russian capital from NIS.
NIS is the only company in Serbia that explores for and produces hydrocarbons. The company has a large oil refinery in Pancevo and dominates Serbia's oil product market. NIS also has a chain of more than 400 filling stations in in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania and Bulgaria.
