Serbia has reached an agreement with Hungary's MOL Group on outstanding matters linked to a possible sale of Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS), the country's Energy Minister, Dubravka Đedović Handanović, said on Wednesday. The accord sets out a conditional transfer of an extra ownership slice to the Serbian state that depends on the outcome of separate talks between MOL and the current majority shareholders of NIS.
Under the arrangement, Serbia would obtain an additional 5% stake in NIS if MOL and Russia's Gazprom Neft finalize a transaction covering the combined 56.15% holding now controlled by Gazprom Neft and the Intelligence Fund, the minister said. The minister added that this incremental ownership would give Serbia expanded rights to approve or block significant company decisions.
Current ownership of NIS is split with Gazprom Neft and the Intelligence Fund holding 56.15% together, Serbia retaining 29.87%, and the remainder held by minority shareholders. The conditional 5% transfer negotiated with MOL would adjust that balance should the deal between MOL and the Russian parties be completed.
Đedović Handanović also said MOL has committed to maintaining operations at the Pančevo refinery at no less than the average annual throughput levels recorded in the four years prior to the imposition of U.S. sanctions, a period during which NIS achieved strong performance. The minister framed the commitment as a safeguard for local refining capacity.
Additionally, the agreement provides for stronger powers for Serbia's representatives on the NIS board. According to the minister, those board members will be able to take and block decisions that could be adverse to the state's interests - a level of influence that Serbia has not exercised since NIS was privatized in 2008.
The statements published by the Energy Ministry reflect the terms as described by Đedović Handanović. They tie any change in Serbia's effective ownership and its board-level authority to the completion of a separate transaction between MOL and the current majority stakeholders in NIS.