MOL Secures U.S. Approval for Serbian Refinery Takeover Talks

Hungary's MOL announced receipt of U.S. approval to advance negotiations for purchasing a majority stake in Serbia's NIS refinery. This development extends the negotiation deadline until May 22.

Earlier in December, the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) mandated that NIS finalize the divestment of stakes held by Russian entities Gazprom and Gazprom Neft by March 24. The Russian firms hold stakes of 44.9% and 11.3%, respectively.

In January, MOL confirmed that it had entered into a binding agreement with the Russian companies to acquire their shares in NIS. Furthermore, the United Arab Emirates' ADNOC is expected to join as a minority stakeholder.