The Serbian government reported on January 19, 2017, that serbian prime minister Aleksandar Vucic discussed potential investments of Lukoil in the country with the president of the Russian oil giant, Vagit Alekperov.
Serbia has settled the debt of state-оwned petrochemicals producer HIP Petrohemija to Lukoil and hopes for further cooperation with the Russian company, Vucic told Vagit Alekperov at their meeting on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Lukoil currently operates 113 filling stations in Serbia, as well as 2 oil storage facilities. Lukoil Serbia employs about 150.
The Russian company set foot in Serbia in 2003 when it acquired a 79.5% stake in fuel distributor Beopetrol for 117 million euro.
In December 2016, Serbian media reported that the government has agreed to repay 15 million euro of the 40 million euro debt owed by HIP Petrohemija to Lukoil.
The Russian company, in turn, agreed to write off 1/3 of the liabilities.
Russia's Gazprom Neft owns 56.15 % of the share capital of NIS, the biggest Serbian energy company.
NIS, with a stock market capitalisation of 122.3 billion dinars, is a member of the Belgrade blue chip index, BELEX15, and the performance of the index is strongly influenced by the movements in the company share price.
In December, Serbia's parliament said it passed a law for the restructuring of 254 million euro of debt of HIP Petrohemija owed to NIS.
A total of 78 million euro was converted into capital owned by NIS, which owned a 12.72% stake in HIP Petrohemija before the transaction.
NIS generated a trading turnover of 982.4 million dinars on the Belgrade bourse in 2016, the highest one among the blue chips.
