This is an indicator that NIS negotiations are in final phase: Expert claims that Serbia should buy it

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Economist Veljko Mijuskovic said today that the fact that the US Treasury Department's OFAC has extended the deadline for the negotiations between the Hungarian MOL and Gazprom Neft on the purchase of a majority stake in the Petroleum Industry of Serbia, NIS, until June 6, could be an indicator that the negotiations are in the final phase, as OFAC otherwise would not have allowed additional time to reach an agreement.

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Mijuskovic told Tanjug that the question remains whether 14 days is enough time to finalize such a complex business transaction, bearing in mind that the public has no information about how far the negotiations have progressed.

He added that although extending the deadline for negotiations is an indicator they are in the final phase, they could still fail until the point the contract has been finalized.

Commenting on Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic saying that in the negotiations with MOL, the sides have moved closer and that she thinks a satisfactory outcome will be achieved, Mijuskovic assessed that this is likely true about some points of dispute regarding the capacity of the Pancevo refinery and security of energy supply, but that this does not mean there has been full agreement.

"This means Serbia's interests have not been fully met, and that is why the negotiations are continuing. I expect that if agreement is to be reached, the Serbian side should be respected to the highest degree," he said.

Asked whether Serbia can fully protect its interests in these negotiations, Mijuskovic said that although Serbia can try to protect its interests, it lost its interests in 2008 when the majority stake in NIS was sold.

Asked what the options are if Serbia is not satisfied with the MOL offer, Mijuskovic said that this is a question of strategic options and whether Serbia will make the best possible offer to the Russian, or if things will shift toward small shareholders.

According to him, it would be best for Serbia to buy the entire Russian share in NIS in order to return what is a Serbian national interest and a strategic resource that goes beyond the framework of the economy.

When it comes to the change of government in Hungary and the possible impact on the pace of these negotiations, Mijuskovic said that although declaratively that has not had an effect, "in essence it probably did."

"We still don't have confirmation that MOL and Gazprom Neft have reached agreement on all points. Currently, the focus is on what is being negotiated between Serbia and MOL, but I'm not sure that there is a fully defined relationship between MOL and Gazprom Neft," he said.

(Telegraf Biznis/Tanjug)