BELGRADE – Serbian Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Đedović Handanović announced today that Hungarian MOL and Russia’s Gazprom Neft have agreed on the key terms of a future sale and purchase agreement for Serbian Petroleum Company (NIS), RTS reported.
According to Đedović Handanović, Serbia has managed to increase its ownership stake by five per cent through negotiations.
“Serbia has succeeded in improving its position, increasing our future ownership stake by five per cent and reaching a number of shares that will give us greater decision-making rights at the shareholders’ assembly” the Serbian minister said.
Russian owners currently hold a 56.15% stake in NIS, of which 44.85% is owned by Gazprom Neft. The Serbian state has so far held a 29.9% stake.
The draft sale agreement between MOL and Gazprom Neft will now be submitted to the US administration, which must decide whether to approve the transaction.
Earlier, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said that MOL is in close talks with ADNOC, a company from the United Arab Emirates, adding that it would be “great news” if cooperation between ADNOC and MOL were to materialise in Serbia.
During a visit to Belgrade last week, Szijjártó said the Hungarian government is providing diplomatic support to MOL in its bid to acquire a majority stake in NIS.
NIS has been under U.S. sanctions since January 2025. Its operating license was revoked by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) from October to December 2025. The current operating license expires on 23 January 2026, while the license for ownership negotiations expires on 24 March 2026.
