Belgrade, 01 January 2026, dtt-net.com – Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that Hungarian MOL company will be the “most likely” purchaser of 56,15% shares of Russian companies in the NIS oil refinery in Serbia, which would mean exit of Russians from ownership needed for ending USA sanctions on the refinery.
Vucic today told public broadcaster RTS he can’t be certain of the outcome of negotiations until such a deal is formally reached between Gazprom and MOL, however.
“… I think that at that moment the Americans expect to see all the main points of the future contract between the seller of the Serbian Petroleum Industry and the future buyer, in this case most likely the Hungarian company MOL,” he said.
“ I can’t say that until the entire construction is completed, I would say, but there is no doubt that MOL, together with the Serbian Petroleum Industry, together with the state of Serbia, worked on the letter to OFAC and on enabling the obtaining of this operating license, which gives us air and gives us the possibility of additional supply of crude oil,” he added.
Donald Trump’s government last night suspended sanctions on NIS until January 23 after their implementation started on October 9. The news was announced by the Serbian Minister of Mining and Energy, Dubravka Đedović Handanović.
NIS company owned 56,15 percent by Gazpromneft and Intelligence, both owned by Gazprom, has shutdown its operations on December 3 because sanctions implementation.
USA government has asked Russian companies to sell their shares to remove NIS from sanctions list.
Sanctions on Gazpromneft are part of sanctions decided in January 2025 by Joe Biden’s government on Russia because of military aggression against Ukraine.
