Djedovic Handanovic: ADNOC, MOL in advanced stage of talks on NIS

ABU DHABI - Serbian Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic met on Thursday in Abu Dhabi with executives of the UAE's oil company ADNOC, which is in talks with Hungary's MOL about acquiring the Gazprom neft stake in the Serbian oil firm NIS, and noted that, in the future, MOL would be running NIS as the majority stakeholder in a joint company with ADNOC, while the UAE-based company would have a presence in management bodies.

NIS is under US sanctions due to its Russian majority ownership.

Djedovic Handanovic noted that a due diligence analysis of NIS operations would be completed by end-February to make it possible to sign a sales and purchase agreement by March 24, a deadline set by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control.

"We had a very productive meeting with the management of ADNOC, which is in an advanced stage of talks with MOL about buying Gazprom neft's stake in NIS. Work is underway on a joint company owned by ADNOC and MOL becoming the majority owner in NIS, while ADNOC will have a very significant presence in that joint company. That is important for us as it is the UAE's state company that has vast experience in the oil sector and can understand state interests, which is exceptionally important to us," she said.

On the sidelines of the World Governments Summit, Djedovic Handanovic met with ADNOC's Omar Alsuwaidi and Nasser Al Muhairi.

She said the ADNOC executives had confirmed their objective was for Serbia's Pancevo oil refinery to continue to operate and increase its capacities in the future in line with market demand.

The meeting also addressed an acquisition of an additional 5 pct stake in NIS by Serbia, the Serbian Ministry of Mining and Energy said in a statement.

Djedovic Handanovic also met with Masdar CEO Mohamed Al Ramahi, whose company is a major investor in renewable energy sources in Serbia, to discuss possibilities for developing a partnership with the Serbian national power company EPS.