Anita Orban: Russian NIS Stake Deal Targeted by December 11
Hungary's foreign minister says in a Telex interview that the Serbian, Russian and Hungarian sides want the Russian stake deal closed, and no price has been published.
By December 11, 37 days from today, the parties negotiating the Russian stake in Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS, the Oil Industry of Serbia) want to close the transaction. That date was given in an interview with the Hungarian portal Telex by Anita Orban, foreign minister in the government of Prime Minister Peter Magyar, a post she has held since mid-May 2026. RTS and Tanjug carried her remarks on November 4.
Asked who holds the initiative in the talks, Orban replied that she could not comment on ongoing business negotiations, but said:
“According to my information, there is a strong intention on the part of all sides - Serbian, Russian, Hungarian - to complete this transaction by December 11.”
The price of the transaction is not mentioned in any of the three texts we read: RTS, Tanjug and Hungary’s Daily News Hungary. So far, the minister’s statement is the only public marker of a deadline that we found in them.
What is known about the stake and the licenses?
Previously published figures are as follows: Gazprom Neft holds 44.9% of NIS, the full Russian package being acquired by MOL comes to 56.15%, and MOL and Gazprom Neft reached a framework agreement in mid-January 2026.
The question put to Orban also states that the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has granted an exemption until December 11 for talks with the sanctioned Gazprom on buying the Russian stake. Daily News Hungary reports the same and adds that NIS owns Serbia’s only refinery.
The other deadline falls earlier. According to RTS, a temporary US exemption allowing Hungary to buy oil from Lukoil and Rosneft expires on November 21. Orban explained that the exemption applies specifically to crude oil bought from those two companies, and that Budapest is therefore looking for an alternative to Russian energy supplies. MOL, she said, has already set off down that road:
“MOL is already working on creating the conditions for the technological conversion of its refinery so that it could potentially receive non-Russian crude oil from other sources in the south, via JANAF.”
That leaves 20 days between the two deadlines: the American permit to buy oil from Lukoil and Rosneft runs out on November 21, and the one covering the NIS talks on December 11.
What does JANAF have to do with the NIS talks?
The Pancevo refinery is supplied with crude through JANAF’s pipeline from Croatia. Orban sees an advantage in that for Hungary:
“MOL’s acquisition in Serbia - the purchase of the Russian part of NIS - could also help Hungary in its negotiations with JANAF, given that the Pancevo refinery is supplied through this pipeline in Croatia.”
The sources differ on the form of that statement. RTS carries it as a verbatim quote, while Tanjug and Daily News Hungary give only a paraphrase, saying the purchase would strengthen the position of MOL, and of Hungary, toward JANAF. That is why the RTS version is quoted above.
Orban also said that Hungary wants to become a regional energy hub. Daily News Hungary cites the arguments she gave: large storage capacity, links with six neighboring countries and MOL’s influential position in the region.
Gas, Washington and a deadline from Brussels
Asked whether the Hungarian government expects Russian natural gas to remain an alternative, Orban answered: “The EU has set a clear deadline for the gradual phase-out of Russian natural gas - autumn 2027.”
RTS recalls that in January the Council of the EU approved a regulation on the gradual phase-out of Russian liquefied natural gas and pipeline gas imports. The ban on LNG under short-term contracts took effect on April 25, and for long-term contracts it applies from January 1, 2027. For pipeline gas the dates are June 17, 2026 and November 1, 2027.
Daily News Hungary adds that during her visit to Washington, Orban and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio signed two declarations of intent, one on energy cooperation and the other on joint efforts against terrorism. Asked whether the government led by the Tisza party is continuing some policies of the previous administration, the minister answered, according to the same source, that some priorities transcend a change of government. Translated from English, she said: “There are strategic interests that do not change with a change of government, such as the security of the country.”
By November 21, then, the exemption for Russian oil expires, and by December 11 the one for the NIS talks. Neither the price nor the final terms of the transaction are public for now.
