Associate of MAT: EUR 4 billion invested in NIS since 2008

The implementation of sanctions against the Oil Industry of Serbia (NIS) will begin on February 27, 2025, and the answer to the official request to the U.S. Department of the Treasury for their postponement for 90 days has not yet arrived, it is stated in the article “Oil Industry of Serbia Under Pressure” by Sanja Filipovic, published in the journal Macroeconomic Analyses and Trends (MAT).

The majority package of NIS shares (51%) was sold to Gazpromneft for EUR 400 million in 2008 with the obligation that the Russian partner invest an additional EUR 500 million in the development of the company.

– Although there has been a lot of controversy in the public about the price for which the majority package of shares was sold, it should be kept in mind that, since then, more than EUR 4 billion has been invested in NIS, of which about 30% in environmental projects – said Filipovic.

She added that, after the privatization, capital investments had increased on an annual basis as much as 3.6 times. Thanks to the investments, the Oil Refinery in Pancevo is today one of the most modern and environmentally advanced ones in the region. In addition, the diversification of NIS operations into the electricity production and trade sector has been carried out and operations have been started in the countries of the region, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria and Romania.

After the privatization of NIS, all business indicators of that company improved significantly, but after the record results in 2022, the sanctions at that time were reflected in the deterioration of business results. According to data for 2024, compared to the previous year, NIS had a slight drop in revenue of one percent, but net profit fell by 58%, and the key indicator of profitability EBITDA was reduced by 35%.

With the privatization of NIS, the state of Serbia lost control over the management of the company because it owns a minority share of 29.87% of the capital. Today, that company is the only producer of crude oil and natural gas in Serbia, the only oil refiner and the owner of a network of gasoline retail outlets of 400 gas stations in the country and the region. Precisely for this reason, as stated, NIS must be viewed in a broader context, i.e. its importance and contribution to the economy of Serbia must be taken into consideration.

NIS a.d. Novi Sad

NIS a.d. Petrol Rafinerija nafte Pančevo

HIP-Petrohemija a.d. Pančevo

NIS

Gazpromneft

Pančevo Oil Refinery

HIP Petrohemija

Sanja Filipović

introduction of sanctions on NIS

investments in NIS