Agreement on MOL’s purchase of Russian shares in NIS could be days away, Szijjártó says

An agreement on the purchase of Russian shares in Serbian oil company NIS could be reached within days between Mol, Russia's Gazpromneft, and the Serbian government, with negotiations approaching an important milestone in the days ahead, Péter Szijjártó said on Thursday in Belgrade.

"The Hungarian government is supporting Mol's intention to buy into NIS because this would present a significant step forward in terms of the security of energy supply in Central Europe, the kind of which has never been seen before. The coordinated operation of the crude oil systems of three landlocked and not particularly oil-rich countries, Slovakia, Hungary, and Serbia, and the integrated operation of the oil refineries in Bratislava, Százhalombatta, and Pančevo will create a situation both in terms of the security of energy supply and the price of energy that the Central European region has never enjoyed before," Szijjártó pointed out.

"In terms of prices and security of supply, we will create a situation unlike anything Slovakia, Hungary and Serbia have ever seen",

he added. He confirmed that as the future owner, Mol considers the Pančevo refinery to be of strategic importance, dispelling rumours that the Hungarian company only wants to gain a share in the market and intends to close the facility. He said that such statements are “fake news, part of a deliberate campaign to stir up confusion, because we know very well that no matter how good a deal is, there will always be those who oppose it.”

The minister explained that the Hungarian government has been providing ongoing diplomatic support to enable Mol, as the future majority owner of NIS, to enter the Serbian crude oil market. Hungary and Serbia will sign an intergovernmental agreement in which they will lay down the foundations for a favorable environment for strategic cooperation in the oil industry and will confirm that they attach particular importance to the planned oil pipeline between the two countries. A new pipeline for oil products will also be built between the two countries, connecting Mol's refinery in Százhalombatta with the logistics center in Novi Sad.

Szijjártó also mentioned that, in his opinion, the European Union's policies had previously already led to a very serious energy crisis in Central Europe – he was likely referring to the fact that Russia significantly restricted its natural gas deliveries to Europe both before and after its invasion of Ukraine. He also said that "Brussels" wants to further worsen the situation in Central Europe by "cutting off reliable sources and established transport routes," i.e., by introducing an EU ban on Russian oil imports and, from 2027, restricting Russian gas imports.

According to Szijjártó, this crisis has once again demonstrated the strength of Hungarian-Serbian friendship, without which a secure energy supply in the region could not have been guaranteed. "The past few months have proven that without Hungary, there is no energy security in Serbia, and without Serbia, there is no energy security in Hungary," he said, recalling that in the past year, 7.8 billion cubic meters of natural gas arrived to Hungary via Serbia.