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Gazprom Neft Sets Up Working Group to Cooperate with Serbia
Gazprom Neft has set up a working group to implement Russia’s-Serbia’s agreement on the oil and gas cooperation and the protocol on basic terms, whereby Gazprom Neft will buy out 51 percent in Serbia’s Naftna Industrija Srbije AD (NIS), Interfax-ANI reported with reference to the press service of Russia’s oil company.
An advisor to Gazprom Neft Board Chairman Dmitry Malyshev will head this taskforce.
Serbia’s government has set up a similar group this week to negotiate with Gazprom Neft. Its chief is Serbia’s Vice Premier, Minister of Economy and Regional Development Mladjan Dinkic.
Concerned about the sale of NIS assets, first of all the recent disposal of 40 percent in NIS in Hyatt Hotel, Gazprom Neft demands from Serbia’s government to halt further sale of NIS. Meanwhile, Dinkic made clear this week that Serbia expects Gazprom Neft to offer better price for NIS.
Under Russia’s-Serbian intergovernmental agreement on the oil and gas cooperation that the parties inked in January of 2008, Gazprom Neft is to pay ˆ400 million for 51 percent in NIS and invest at least ˆ500 million to upgrade the company. The agreement provides for constructing in Serbia a portion of the South Stream gas pipeline and the underground gas storage facilities. The previous government of that Balkan nation approved of the agreement in May and forwarded it to the parliament.
NIS is an oil and gas monopoly of Serbia, covering 72 percent of the market. It owns two refineries with the aggregate annual capacity of 6.3 million tons. Nowadays, the facilities process 4.1 million tons a year, meeting domestic needs of Serbia in part and in whole. The annual sales stand at $1.8 billion.
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