Sestovic: Deal between MOL, Gazprom neft key part of Serbia's energy security equation

BELGRADE - A purchase and sales agreement between the Hungarian oil firm MOL and Russia's Gazprom neft on an acquisition of a Russian stake in the Serbian oil company NIS is a key part of Serbia's energy security equation, says World Bank Senior Economist for Serbia Lazar Sestovic, adding that he hopes the issue will be resolved by May 22, a deadline set by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

"An acquisition of NIS by MOL is one of the key issues - it is a part of the country's energy security equation and a part of the FDI inflow and industrial output issue. The sooner a solution is found, the better," Sestovic said when asked by Tanjug whether a MOL-Gazprom neft deal on NIS would lead to an upgrade of the World Bank's growth projection for Serbia for this year, revised downward from 3 pct to 2.7 pct as a result of the Middle East conflicts, persistent inflation and increased uncertainty.

"We hope fresh developments in the Middle East will not delay that solution, as the crisis that NIS is in has been going on for a long time now and needs to be resolved as soon as possible. There are deadlines set by foreign administrations (the OFAC) and we hope they will be met and that we will have a solution at the end of May," Sestovic said.