Serbia’s only refinery Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS), majority owned by Russian state energy firms and sanctioned by the United States, said on Wednesday it had applied for a special U.S. license to continue operations until talks for an ownership change conclude.
On Tuesday, NIS submitted a new request to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury for the issuance of a special license that would enable the company to operate without disruptions, the Serbian company said.
Gazprom Neft and Gazprom affiliates hold a majority stake in NIS, with the Serbian state owning the remaining 29.9%.
The U.S. has waived the sanctions against NIS several times since it included it in the sanctions on Russia’s oil industry in January this year. The sanctions on the Russia-owned refinery in Serbia came into effect in early October as the last waiver expired.
Last week, OFAC issued a license until February 13, 2026, which only authorized negotiations between shareholders and other interested parties regarding changes in NIS’s ownership structure.
“In line with the current status of negotiations between the shareholders and the interested parties, a request was sent to OFAC for a new license that would allow the Company to continue its operations while discussions on a sustainable solution for NIS are underway,” the refinery said.
Last week, reports emerged that Hungarian oil company MOL is close to buying an 11.3% stake in Serbia’s refinery from its Russian owners.
Since the last U.S. waiver expired on October 8, banks have stopped processing NIS-related payments and Croatia’s JANAF pipeline has halted deliveries of crude oil to the refinery. The JANAF pipeline from Croatia had been Serbia’s primary supply line for Russian and Kazakh crude since 2022.
Without new supply of crude, the NIS refinery can operate only until November 25, according to Serbian officials.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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