In the first nine months of this year, NIS invested around 177 million euros, mainly in oil and gas exploration and production activities at its Deep Processing Unit at the Pancevo refinery, as well as in upgrading its retail network in Serbia and the region.
According to its 2021 business plan, Serbian oil company NIS plans to invest some 177 million euros in the next year. The statement from the company said that it intends to focus investments on oil and gas exploration and production, modernization of processing capacity and development of retail network. In addition, NIS will proceed with the digital transformation of its business, including improvement of environmental protection and safety at work.
NIS plans to commission the 200 MW combined heat and power plant in Pancevo in cooperation with Gazprom Energoholding in the second quarter 2021, to produce steam and electricity for the needs of the Pancevo oil refinery. The company also plans to start activities that will enable the launch of a Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) project and the construction of a unit for the production of bioethanol base Ethyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (ETBE) in Pancevo refinery.
In the January-September 2020 period, oil and gas industry was affected by adverse global trends, reduced demand for petroleum products, before all, due to the COVID-19 pandemics, as well as to sharp decline in oil prices. In the third quarter, NIS’ EBITDA indicator amounts to 68 million euros, while the same indicator for 9 months of 2020, amounts to the total of 88.5 million euros. NIS also preserved its positive cash flow, which was, in the period January-September 167 million euros. Net profit realized in the third quarter was 16.2 million euros, but unfavorable macroeconomic situation in the first half of the year influenced the NIS Group to record the loss of 70.6 million euros in first nine months of the current year.
