hungarytoday.hu
MOL Takeover of NIS: Rumors Are Rife in Serbia
Hungary Today
5–6 minutes
NIS headquarters in Novi Sad
On January 1, extraordinary events unfolded in connection with the Serbian oil
company NIS, which have had a massive impact on MOL and also on Hungary. It
currently looks as if the Hungarian oil company will officially become the
owner of Serbia’s only oil company within a few weeks, Világgazdaság summarizes.
The U.S. recently agreed to allow the Serbian oil company NIS to negotiate the
sale of its Russian stake in the oil refinery until March 24, 2026. However,
there was a catch: NIS has not yet received an operating license to purchase
and process crude oil. The background to this is that the U.S. Treasury
Department imposed sanctions in October as part of punitive measures against
the Russian energy sector. As a result, the transport of crude oil via the
Janaf pipeline through Croatia was halted, bringing production at the plant in
Pančevo – Serbia’s only oil refinery – to a standstill.
NIS refinery in Pančevo (Pantschowa). Photo: Naftna industrija Srbije
NIS/Wikimedia Commons
Russia’s Gazprom holds an 11.3% stake in NIS, while its subsidiary Gazpromneft
holds a 44.9% stake. The Serbian government holds a 29.9% stake, with the
remainder held by small shareholders and employees.
In recent days, it was officially announced that Hungary’s MOL and NIS had
submitted a joint application to the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control
(OFAC) to suspend sanctions against NIS for the duration of negotiations on
changing the ownership structure. This was reported by the Serbian Minister of
Mining and Energy. It is particularly noteworthy that MOL has already been able
to take action on this matter.
NIS announced that the U.S. Treasury Department had granted them a special
license on December 31, allowing the company to continue operations until
January 23, 2026.
This allows NIS to continue its activities, including resuming refinery
processing, importing crude oil, and carrying out transactions necessary for
security of supply and technical maintenance.
NIS refinery in Pančevo (Pantschowa). Photo: NIS ad/Wikimedia Commons
January 23 also means that the purchase agreement with the new owner of NIS,
which as things stand could be MOL, can be finalized by then.
Another important development was that Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić
indirectly confirmed on January 1, that Hungary’s MOL will buy NIS. Although
the Serbian head of state did not mention MOL by name, he clearly alluded to it
when he confirmed the ongoing negotiations and said:
I hope that the Russians and Hungarians will complete their work.”
He set January 18 as the deadline. At the same time, he expressed hope that
there would be enough fuel available to meet the country’s entire demand. Vučić
made these comments to journalists. Beyond the implications for Hungary, he
made another important announcement, namely that NIS would begin procuring and
processing crude oil immediately after the holidays and that the refinery would
be running at full capacity around January 18.
Aleksandar Vučić. Photo: MTI/Bruzák Noémi
In any case, the fact that the Serbian President has now set January 18 as the
date, confirms that Serbia has received American approval for the NIS deal. But
there was another important statement from the Serbian President. Vučić gave an
interview in which he clarified an important issue: “I would like to tell
citizens that we have suffered very serious consequences because the refinery
was not in operation. Our industrial production declined in November and
December due to the refinery shutdown. This has had a drastic and dramatic
impact on the state of our economy.”
And since I hear conspiracy theories that the refinery will be shut down
and that the Hungarians will close it, as they did in Croatia or elsewhere: it
will not be shut down.”
“Because Serbia is also an owner, with a 29.87% stake, and we also have a say.
In the future, we will try to buy a few more percentage points to get above the
one-third threshold so that we can not only control and monitor NIS even more
closely, so to speak, but also participate in the management of the company,”
President Vučić said, dispelling the rumors surrounding a possible takeover by
MOL.
MOL and NIS Request Suspension of U.S. Sanctions Until End of Negotiations
MOL and NIS Request Suspension of U.S. Sanctions Until End of Negotiations
Hungarian company MOL seeks temporary suspension of sanctions to facilitate
purchase of Russian stakes in Serbia’s NIS, supported by both
governments.Continue reading
Via Világgazdaság; Featured image: Wikimedia Commons
https://hungarytoday.hu/mol-takeover-of-nis-rumors-are-rife-in-serbia/
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