site.btaNegotiations on Russian Stake in Serbian Oil Company NIS to Be Finalized Shortly - Hungarian Foreign Minister

In an interview with Serbian national television RTS, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto revealed Hungary's plans for developing the regional oil market at a time when the Hungarian oil company MOL is about to take over the majority Russian stake in the Serbian oil company NIS (Naftna industrija Srbije).

"We expect an agreement within one to three days. Close negotiations are also underway with ADNOC, the state oil company of the United Arab Emirates," Szijjarto told RTS. "Then, we will immediately submit the request to OFAC (the Office of Foreign Assets Control at the U.S. Department of the Treasury). Since the Hungarian government supports MOL in purchasing Gazprom Neft's stake in NIS, we will certainly provide diplomatic assistance to ensure the procedure's success," Szijjarto said.

He added that Hungary's diplomatic support for MOL aims to ensure that the oil markets of Slovakia, Hungary, and Serbia function as integral parts of a single system. MOL, Hungary's largest energy company, previously acquired majority stakes in the Croatian oil company INA and the Slovak oil company Slovnaft, notes the Serbian edition of the BBC. 

In January 2025, the U.S. Treasury Department added Gazprom Neft and its CEO, Alexander Dyukov, as well as the Serbian oil company NIS, to the sanctions list due to the war in Ukraine. The US then demanded that Russia sell its majority stake in NIS. The Serbian oil company's majority shareholders are Gazprom Neft (44.85%), Serbia (29.87%), and Intelligence JSC from St. Petersburg (11.3%), which is managed by Gazprom Capital. Following several delays, the restrictions took effect on October 9 of that year. Serbia then faced a fuel crisis and secondary sanctions were imposed on all financial institutions working with NIS. 

On December 31, the Serbian Ministry of Energy announced that NIS had received a license from the U.S. Treasury Department to continue operations until January 23. Later, Serbian President Vucic said he expected Washington to extend the license after the U.S. provided the binding terms of the contract for the sale of Russia's stake in the company.