Oil company NIS has the opportunity to expand its exploration and oil exploitation work in the region and in Iraq, said Energy Minister and NIS Shareholders' Assembly President Petar Skundric.

In an interview with BETA he said that NIS had oil fields in Serbia and Angola, and that there was a chance of making special arrangements in Romania, several former Soviet republics and in Iraq.

Skundric said that Iraq had offered to cooperate with Serbia and Serbian companies in the energy sector, including the oil and natural gas sectors, and underlined that serious talks with Iraqi Ambassador to Serbia Falah Abdulsada were being held.

This also encompasses possibilities for exploration and oil exploitation rights, underscored Skundric, adding that similar offers had also come from several other countries.

He announced that modernization work on the oil refinery in Pancevo had been completed in 2010 and that the installation of hydrocracking equipment and a hydrogen producing factory would be carried out during 2011.