The company that manages the pipeline network in Croatia wants to buy Russia’s stake in the Serbian oil company NIS
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Croatian Economy Minister Ante Susnjar said that Croatia’s oil pipeline operator Jadranski Naftovod (JANAF) could buy Russia’s stake in Serbia’s Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS), Interfax reported, citing Croatian media.
According to Ante Susnjar, such a transaction would be a natural complement to the business, given that the NIS refinery receives oil through pipelines operated by JANAF. JANAF also has the necessary capacity and is interested in Russia’s stake in NIS, if the parties reach an agreement.
“Janaf would operate on the basis of a partnership with the other co-owners and would not seek control or supremacy,” Ante Susnjar said in an interview with the Croatian financial daily Jutarnji List.
The publication adds that JANAF has hired a Washington law firm to promote its interests with the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) regarding a possible transaction involving a stake in NIS.
On January 10, the US Treasury imposed sanctions on the Russian oil sector and warned Gazprom Neft that it had 45 days to exit NIS.
At the end of February, Gazprom Neft reduced its stake in the NIS oil company from 50% to 44.85%. At the same time, the Gazprom group’s stake in the Serbian oil company increased from 6.15% to 11.3%. Following this change, Gazprom Neft no longer controls a majority stake in NIS, the company that owns the only refinery in Serbia, located in Pancevo, near the capital Belgrade, as well as a chain of over 400 gas stations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria and Romania.
