Serbia expects a binding agreement for the sale of a majority stake in the country’s state-controlled oil company, Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS), to Hungarian energy company MOL by the end of this week, Serbian Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Đedović Handanović said on Friday.
Đedović Handanović, speaking after a meeting with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó, said talks were ongoing between NIS’s Russian owners, MOL, and other potential buyers. She added that once a deal is reached, Serbia would request an extension of the company’s operational license from the U.S. administration.
“The Hungarian government has always supported us in obtaining operational licenses, which have been granted nine times to date. I believe all parties involved will use every diplomatic avenue to ensure NIS can continue operating after Jan. 23 and complete the transaction successfully,” Đedović Handanović said in a ministry statement.
The ministers also discussed a planned intergovernmental agreement between Serbia and Hungary, which will set strategic principles for NIS’s future operations and future joint energy projects. Đedović Handanović said Serbia aims to increase its stake in NIS by around 5 percent and confirmed there were no plans to close the Pančevo refinery, which she described as efficient and with potential for increased production.
She added that Serbia had maintained energy security over the past 100 days despite disruptions in crude oil deliveries via the Adriatic pipeline, thanks to cooperation with companies including MOL. Oil deliveries to NIS via the domestic JANAF pipeline resumed on Thursday, she said.
Szijjártó said MOL considers the Pančevo refinery strategically important and denied media reports that the company intended to close it. He described such claims as “fake news” aimed at creating confusion.
The ministers also discussed the construction of a new 113-kilometre pipeline from Novi Sad in Serbia to Algyő in Hungary. The project, for which a tender has been issued in Serbia, is expected to start mid-year and be completed within 18 months, enhancing energy security through diversification of supply routes.
Szijjártó said the pipeline and the potential acquisition of NIS would improve the long-term energy position of Serbia, Hungary, and Slovakia, noting that MOL had increased oil exports to Serbia 2.5 times last year and now holds the largest share of the Serbian fuel market.
“The past period has confirmed that without Hungary there is no energy security in Serbia, and without Serbia there is no energy security in Hungary,” he said.