Serbia's Securities Commission approved Gazpromneft's offer to purchase the remaining 19.08 percent of shares of the Petroleum Industry of Serbia (NIS) which are in the free market, the Commission stated for Tanjug Thursday.

The citizens will be able to sell NIS shares for EUR 4.8 per share.

Based on the sale contract, the Russian company Gazpromneft, which owns 51 percent of NIS shares, is obliged to submit the bid for the purchase of the shares by February 2011, and the citizens are not obliged to sell them if they do not want to.

As of August 2010, the Serbian citizens who own NIS shares were able to trade in them at the Belgrade Stock Exchange.

By the Serbia-Russia international agreement in the area of oil and gas economy and the contract concluded in December 2008, Gazpromneft became the owner of 51 percent of NIS shares.

In accordance with the Law on the Right of Citizens to Gratis Shares, the Serbian citizens got 19.08 percent of shares, 4.34 percent of which were given to NIS's current and former employees, whereas about 29.9 percent remained in possession of the Republic of Serbia.