| HIP-Azotara | |
| Native Name: | ХИП-Азотара |
| Native Name Lang: | sr |
| Predecessor: | Hemijska Industrija Pančevo (HIP) |
| Type: | d.o.o. |
| Location City: | Pančevo |
| Location Country: | Serbia |
| Key People: | Danilo Tomašević |
| Industry: | Chemicals |
| Products: | Mineral fertilizer, nitrogen compounds |
| Revenue: | €59.10 million [1] |
| Net Income: | €10.02 million |
| Assets: | €168.31 million [2] |
| Equity: | €124.42 million |
| Owner: | Promist d.o.o. |
| Num Employees: | 209 |
HIP–Azotara (Serbian: ХИП-Азотара), or simply Azotara, is a Serbian mineral fertilizer and nitrogen compounds company, with the headquarters in Pančevo, Serbia. It was founded in 1975.
In 1962, a Yugoslav industrial giant - "Hemijska Industrija Pančevo" (eng. Chemical Industry of Pančevo") was founded with headquarters in Pančevo. In 1975, it was split into two companies which are in close proximity - HIP-Azotara (for mineral fertilizers) and HIP-Petrohemija (for petrochemicals).[3] HIP-Petrohemija was built on the success of HIP-Azotara, and only by 1990, the companies were completely separated. HIP-Azotara never claimed its share in the ownership of HIP-Petrohemija, as both were in the state-ownership.[4] In 1999, the company facilities were targeted and bombed during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia; estimates are that around 250 tons of liquid ammonia had leaked into the ground and the waste water channel as a result.[5]
In April 2006, HIP-Azotara was privatized and sold to the Lithuanian-Serbian consortium (Arvi & Co, Sanitex, and Univerzal-holding) for 13.1 million euros.[6] [7]
The 2006 privatization was cancelled in January 2009,[8] and 55 million euros of debt was converted to the ownership shares, with the Serbian state-owned gas company Srbijagas set to become the majority stakeholder with 81.6% of shares. In April 2012, it was announced that 130 million euros of debt was written off.[9] In March 2013, Srbijagas formally took over the company.[10] From September 2018 until May 2021, the HIP-Azotara was in bankruptcy procedure.
In May 2021, it was sold to the Novi Sad-based company Promist for 650 million dinars.[11] In May 2022, it was announced that there are plans for the creation of facility for blue hydrogen production in the future in HIP-Azotara.[12]