Serbia says ADNOC to take significant stake in NIS as Russian owners exit

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) is expected to take a significant minority stake in Serbian oil company Naftna industrija Srbije (NIS) as part of a deal to acquire Russian Gazprom Neft’s holding, Serbia’s energy ministry said on February 5.

Russia’s Gazprom and its oil arm Gazprom Neft agreed in January to sell their combined 56.15% stake in NIS to MOL, a move that could allow US sanctions on the company to be lifted if approved by Washington. ADNOC is expected to take a minority holding in a joint company with MOL that would become NIS’s majority owner.

Energy Minister Dubravka Dedovic Handanovic discussed future cooperation in Serbia’s oil sector with ADNOC executives in Abu Dhabi on February 5, as the UAE state-owned company holds advanced talks with Hungary’s MOL to buy part of Gazprom Neft’s stake in NIS.

“It is important for us because ADNOC is a state-owned company with extensive experience in the oil sector and an understanding of state interests,” Dedovic Handanovic said, according to a statement issued by the ministry.

NIS, which owns Serbia’s only oil refinery in Pancevo, was sanctioned by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in October as part of measures targeting Russia’s energy sector over Moscow’s war in Ukraine. The sanctions disrupted oil supplies and forced a temporary shutdown of the refinery, raising concerns over fuel shortages.

The United States has since granted a sanctions waiver allowing NIS to continue operating until February 20, after Russia agreed to divest its majority stake.

Dedovic Handanovic said ADNOC had confirmed its goal was to keep the Pancevo refinery operating and to expand capacity in line with market demand. She added that in-depth analysis related to the transaction would be completed by the end of February, with the aim of signing the purchase agreement by March 24, the deadline set by OFAC.

OFAC approval is required for the deal to proceed and for sanctions on NIS to be lifted.

Under the proposed structure, MOL would manage NIS as the majority shareholder in the joint company, while ADNOC would hold a significant stake and participate in management bodies.