Serbia to Submit Final NIS Proposal to Hungary’s MOL as Gazprom Exits Stake
Serbia’s NIS Takeover: Key Developments and Stakeholder Negotiations
Serbia’s Final Proposal to MOL
ATHENS, May 15 (Reuters) - Serbia will submit its final proposal on Friday to MOL concerning the Hungarian oil company's bid to take over NIS, operator of the Balkan nation's sole refinery, its energy minister said.
Background: Gazprom’s Exit and U.S. Sanctions
Russia's Gazprom Neft and Gazprom agreed to sell their 56% majority stake in NIS to MOL in January after the U.S. demanded the divestment of Russian-owned shares due to sanctions over Moscow's war in Ukraine.
Washington has given the Russian companies and MOL until May 22 to complete the sale, which will require Serbian government consent due to the state's 29.9% stake in NIS.
Serbian Government’s Position and Negotiations
The government, which wants to increase Serbia's stake by 5%, has been in talks with MOL. Those discussions are separate from MOL's negotiations with Gazprom and Gazprom Neft.
"We had intensive discussions with representatives of MOL yesterday and the day before yesterday, we agreed on certain issues," Energy Minister Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic was quoted as saying by Serbia's Tanjug news agency.
"There are a few open issues left, and the most important issue for us is the future operation of the refinery."
Timeline for Decision Making
The government will give its final position on NIS to MOL by the end of the day on Friday, and MOL's board will take a decision on the proposal on Monday, she said.
She did not give further details on what would be included in the proposal.
Concerns and Approvals
Djedovic Handanovic said earlier this week that Serbia was not satisfied with some of MOL's proposals during the talks.
Responding to a Reuters request for comment, a MOL spokesman said "the transaction (with Russian shareholders) is subject to, among other things, OFAC (U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control) and Serbian government approvals."
Sanctions and Waivers
The U.S. imposed sanctions on NIS in October due to its Russian ownership as part of wider measures targeting Moscow's energy sector.
NIS, however, has secured a series of waivers from OFAC.
Reporting Credits
(Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou; Additional reporting by Aleksander Vasovic; Editing by Joe Bavier)
