Vagit Alekperov said that the Serbian government had decided to privatize the Oil Industry of Serbia (Naftna Industrija Srbije or NIS), but had not outlined the terms.
The LUKoil president said he was planning to visit Bulgaria and Serbia in early April and confirmed that the company was also interested in acquiring Lithuanian oil concern Mazeikiu Nafta.
Alekperov dismissed reports that LUKoil planned to acquire new oil assets in mineral-rich Kazakhstan, saying that instead the company would spend all available funds on modernizing existing assets.
He also said the company's board of directors would discuss the buyback of a 2% LUKoil stake from the market.
LUKoil (RTS: LKOH) announced earlier it had started an aggressive investment campaign in eastern Europe aimed mainly at the acquisition of oil refineries. The company already has refineries in Bulgaria and Romania, and supplies oil products to Hungary, where it maintains a network of filling stations.
