Gazprom Neft eyes Macedonia's Okta refinery?

Gazprom Neft, majority owner of the Petroleum Industry of Serbia (NIS), is seriously interested in Hellenic Petroleum, refineries in Salonika and Skopje in particular, seebiz.eu reports. NIS plans to enter two more markets in the region this year and become a leading oil company in this part of Europe.

All this information is brought in connection with speculations in Macedonia that Gazprom Neft may be the future owner of Okta refinery.

According to well-informed sources, this refinery in Macedonia is interesting because of its location and a completed oil pipeline. It is believed that Gazprom Neft plans to use the production at the Salonika-based refinery to cover the Bulgarian market and the production at Okta to cover not only the market of Macedonia, but also the markets of neighboring countries.