Gazprom Neft to invest 1.4 billion EUR in Serbia's NIS by 2025

Belgrade, September 25 - Neftegaz.RU. Gazprom Neft plans to invest 1.4 billion EUR in the development of Serbian oil & gas group NIS by 2025, the CEO of NIS, Kirill Tyurdenev said. Gazprom Neft controls 56.15% of NIS, while the Serbian government owns a 29.87% stake.

"Our long-term development strategy assumes a further investment of 2 billion EUR between 2017 and 2025. If we consider the current period remaining until 2025, this is 1.4 billion EUR," Tyurdenev said in an interview to Energy Intelligence posted on the corporate website.

This year NIS will complete the construction of the deep processing complex with delayed coking technology. This is the largest investment project of the 2nd stage Pancevo refinery modernization and one of the largest investments in the country’s economy in recent years: the project costs exceed €300 million.

The launch of the complex will put the refinery on a par with the world’s best refineries with a refining depth of more than 99%.

NIS this year marks the 10th anniversary since Gazprom Neft became its largest shareholder in 2009. Before Gazprom Neft joined as a shareholder, NIS incurred a loss of about $100 million to its shareholders. The total debt stood at some $1 billion.

Over the past 10 years after Gazprom Neft acquired a controlling stake in NIS, more than €3 billion have been invested in the development of the Serbian asset. In 2018, the company’s net profit exceeded $250 million, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) reached more than $500 million. The NIS’s debt dropped to $657 million.