A newly established Serbian company has entered the contest for control of NIS, Serbia’s only oil refiner, with a €2 billion offer for the Russian-held majority stake, challenging an existing sale process involving Hungary’s MOL Group.
A little-known Serbian company has offered €2 billion for the Russian-controlled majority stake in Naftna Industrija Srbije, the operator of Serbia’s only oil refinery, in a move that could complicate a sanctions-driven sale already being pursued by Hungary’s MOL Group.
According to Reuters, KFT Senator Treasury G.T.7 Two LLC, a Serbian firm founded last summer, has proposed buying the combined 56.1 per cent holding in NIS owned by Gazprom Neft and Gazprom. The offer, equivalent to about $2.35 billion, was disclosed by the company’s owner, Ranko Mimović.
NIS is one of Serbia’s most important energy assets. It operates the Pančevo refinery, the country’s only oil refinery, and plays a central role in Serbia’s fuel supply. Gazprom Neft owns 44.9 per cent of the company, while Gazprom holds 11.3 per cent. The Serbian government owns 29.9 per cent, with the remaining shares held by minority investors and employees.
The company has been under United States sanctions because of its Russian ownership. The measures were imposed by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control as part of wider sanctions targeting Russia’s energy sector following the invasion of Ukraine. OFAC has required the Russian owners to divest their stake in NIS.
The Serbian bid challenges a process already under way with MOL. The Hungarian energy group signed an agreement on January 19 to buy the combined Gazprom Neft and Gazprom stake in NIS. MOL later said that OFAC had accepted its application and extended the deadline for negotiations until May 22, 2026, allowing the parties to finalise the sale and purchase agreement and related documents.
A Reuters report on April 27 said MOL’s talks over the NIS acquisition were continuing under the framework agreement signed earlier this year. The same deadline of May 22 was also reported by Balkan Green Energy News, which said OFAC had approved an extension for talks on MOL’s proposal to buy Gazprom’s majority stake.
Gazprom Neft has indicated that it remains focused on the sale to MOL. In an emailed statement cited by Reuters, the Russian company said it was actively preparing the sale of its NIS stake to the Hungarian group and that the necessary corporate and regulatory procedures were under way. It added that it was not conducting other negotiations on the issue.
Senator, however, says it began procedures with OFAC on October 30 to obtain a licence to acquire a controlling stake in NIS and notified Gazprom Neft of its plans on November 4. Reuters reported that the OFAC website listed the request as awaiting managerial review.
The financial scale of Senator’s offer has drawn attention. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, cited by Reuters, said the bid was twice the value of MOL’s offer. That comparison, if accurate, may increase political pressure around the sale, although any transaction would still require OFAC approval and would need to satisfy sanctions compliance requirements.
For Belgrade, the issue is wider than a corporate transaction. NIS is central to Serbia’s energy security, while its ownership structure reflects the country’s long-standing energy relationship with Russia. The sale also comes as Serbia seeks to balance ties with Moscow, Washington, Budapest and the European Union.
The Serbian government has indicated that it wants to increase its own holding in NIS by a further five percentage points. Such a move would expand state influence but would not, on its own, give Belgrade control of the company.
The outcome will depend on whether OFAC accepts one of the proposed buyers and whether Gazprom Neft and Gazprom proceed with MOL or consider an alternative offer. With the May 22 deadline approaching, the future ownership of NIS has become a test of Serbia’s room for manoeuvre under sanctions pressure and of the regional politics surrounding energy supply in South-Eastern Europe.
