Prime Minister speaks about possibility of Serbia expanding its ownership share in NIS

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Prime Minister Djuro Macut said today that the state will take advantage of the potential opportunity to enter into the ownership of the Petroleum Industry of Serbia, NIS, with a larger stake - because in would in this way gain greater control over that company.

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"We will consider the situation regarding the final transformation of the ownership, as announced by the president of Serbia. We will probably have the opportunity to enter with a larger percentage, which, if we get that opportunity, we should absolutely take advantage of, as it will give us greater control power over the oil industry," Macut told RTS.

Macut pointed out that the good news is that the license for NIS - which is under US sanctions - has been extended and that oil will once again start to be supplied to the Pancevo refinery this month through the JANAF pipeline.

"As far as supply is concerned, it's good news that NIS has received a license, that it has been extended for January. We also expect new quantities of oil through JANAF and for it (the refinery) to return to operation in the second half of January. That is when we will have good news regarding the resumption of work of our largest oil company," he said.

Macut noted that representatives of the Hungarian oil company MOL are in Serbia and are analyzing the possibility of taking over NIS.

"A few days ago, MOL (representatives) arrived in Serbia and they started to analyze the situation in terms of what is needed to make the final decision and harmonize the sales contract. These are large transactions. I hope that things will take their course and that we will have good news soon," he said.

According to the prime minister, oil reserves in Serbia are full, which is why citizens should not be concerned.

"I think that the reserves are fully filled, that we have safety. We have been blocked in the energy sector for about three months now, but everything is working and traffic is taking place without any problems. I think that this is only one of the good signs that the government of Serbia and the state are functioning responsibly, that in the last two years they have been working on building new storage capacities and that Serbia has not gone into this situation unprepared. It's an entire organizational plan that has been in place in the country for a long time. We were ready for such a situation," stressed Macut.

(Telegraf Biznis/Tanjug)