Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Đedović Handanović held talks today with the management of the oil company ADNOC from the United Arab Emirates, Omar Al Suwaidi and Nasser Al Muhairi, on future cooperation in Serbia’s oil sector.
“We had a very productive meeting with ADNOC’s management, which is in advanced negotiations with MOL on the purchase of Gazprom Neft’s stake in the Oil Industry of Serbia. Work is being done for the joint company of ADNOC and MOL to become the majority owner of NIS, while ADNOC will have a very significant share in that joint company. This is important for us because it is a state-owned company of the United Arab Emirates with extensive experience in the oil sector, which can understand state interests, something that is of exceptional importance to us,” said Đedović Handanović, recalling the good political relations between President Vučić and the leadership of the UAE.
She added that this is also significant for the future operation of the Pančevo refinery.
ADNOC’s executives confirmed that their goal is for the refinery to continue operating and to increase its capacities in the future in line with market demands – the minister stated.
How could Serbia buy an additional 5 per cent?
The meeting also discussed the purchase of an additional five per cent stake in NIS by Serbia.
“We agreed to continue a constructive and transparent dialogue, as we have done so far. I expressed my gratitude that ADNOC has been in contact with us from the very beginning, as well as with the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Department of the Treasury (OFAC), just as Serbia has, advocating the establishment of regular crude oil supplies for the refinery and an extension of the licence,” she said.
Đedović Handanović stressed that all due diligence related to the purchase of the Russian ownership stake in NIS would be completed by the end of February, in order to create the conditions for the signing of the sale and purchase agreement in March, within the deadline set by OFAC, that is by 24 March.
“OFAC will have to approve that transaction in order for sanctions on NIS to be lifted, which is our long-term goal,” the minister said.
What will the management structure look like?
She pointed out that in the future MOL would manage the Oil Industry of Serbia as the majority shareholder in the joint company with ADNOC, while the UAE company would be present in the management bodies.
“This is important for us because of ADNOC’s experience in managing large systems and overseeing NIS’s operations through participation in management bodies,” she said.
At the meeting held on the margins of the World Government Summit, Đedović Handanović also spoke with Mohamed Al Ramahi, Chief Executive Officer of Masdar, a significant investor in renewable energy sources in Serbia, about opportunities for developing a partnership with Elektroprivreda Srbije (the Electric Power Industry of Serbia – EPS).
(Blic, 05.06.2026)