Hungary's MOL Group has signed a binding agreement to acquire a controlling 56.15% stake in Serbia's Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS) from Russia's Gazprom Neft. The completion of this transaction is contingent upon approvals from both the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and Serbian authorities, with a final sales agreement targeted by March 31.

Strategic Rationale and Adnoc Involvement

MOL's stated strategic goal is to contribute to the energy sovereignty of Central and Southeastern Europe by ensuring the operation of strong, predictable local refineries. To this end, MOL is in negotiations to bring Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) into the deal as a minority investor. MOL emphasized it would retain majority ownership and control of NIS in any arrangement with Adnoc.

Background on NIS and Sanctions

NIS, which operates Serbia's only refinery in Pancevo and a retail network, was sanctioned by OFAC in early 2025 due to its majority ownership by the already-sanctioned Gazprom Neft. The Russian company originally acquired its stake in 2008 for €400 million and subsequently invested $2 billion into NIS by 2014. NIS holds proven and probable reserves of approximately 173 million barrels of oil equivalent and produces over 20,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in Serbia, with additional exploration activities in Romania and Bosnia and Herzegovina.