Serbia not satisfied with MOL’s latest proposal for oil company NIS takeover

Belgrade is not satisfied with Hungarian MOL’s latest proposal in negotiations on a takeover of Serbia-based oil company NIS, mainly over issues related to the operation of the Pančevo refinery and the supply of the domestic market. The revised proposal arrived late last night, just days after MOL’s previous offer was rejected.

The main stumbling block in the negotiations with MOL concerns the future operation of NIS’ oil refinery in Pančevo, specifically the issue of supplying the domestic market with petroleum products, according to Serbian Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Đedović Handanović, the ministry said in a press release.

According to her, the negotiations will continue today and tomorrow.

“We want to reach a compromise, but not at any cost,” the minister said. “We will not jeopardize our security of supply, nor the impact that the refinery’s operation has on the economy and industry,” she stressed.

Serbia has “red lines” regarding the refinery’s operation and the supply of the domestic market

Last week, a meeting was held with MOL representatives, but it did not produce a satisfactory outcome for the Serbian side.

Đedović Handanović said at the time that Serbia had “red lines,” mainly regarding the capacity of crude oil refining and ensuring that petroleum products cover the domestic market to a certain extent.

The deadline to reach an agreement is May 22

On May 11, at the opening of Belgrade Energy Forum (BEF 2026), Đedović Handanović recalled that MOL and Russian energy giant Gazprom, the majority owner of NIS, had 11 more days to submit documentation regarding the purchase agreement for NIS to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States Department of the Treasury. Earlier this year, MOL and Gazprom agreed on a term sheet for the NIS takeover.

NIS and its majority owner, Gazprom, are under US sanctions

Both Gazprom and NIS are under US sanctions. In March, OFAC approved an extension of the deadline for completing the negotiations until May 22.

With the acquisition of NIS, the Hungarian company would take over Serbia’s only oil refinery and largest service station chain. NIS also operates small oil and gas fields, mostly in Serbia’s northeast.