BELGRADE, June 28 (BalkanView) – Serbia’s oil company NIS, majority-owned by Russian energy giants Gazprom Neft and Gazprom, has submitted a new request to U.S. authorities seeking an extension of its sanctions waiver beyond July 1, when the current exemption expires, the company said.
Without a new waiver from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), NIS would be unable to import and process crude oil, potentially causing severe disruptions to Serbia’s fuel market, where the company supplies up to 80% of domestic demand.
In its request to OFAC, NIS said that extending the exemption was necessary to ensure the company’s normal operations and maintain stable fuel supplies to the Serbian market. The company added that advanced negotiations were underway regarding changes to its ownership structure.
The United States imposed sanctions on NIS in October last year due to Russian ownership of the company, as part of broader measures targeting Russia’s energy sector following its invasion of Ukraine.
Washington has been pressing for a reduction of Russian ownership in NIS, while the company has so far secured temporary exemptions from the sanctions regime.
According to Reuters, U.S. authorities have also given Hungary’s energy group MOL until July 1 to conclude negotiations on the acquisition of the 56.15% stake in NIS currently held by Gazprom Neft and Gazprom. The Serbian government owns 29.9% of the company.
The outcome of the negotiations is considered crucial for Serbia’s energy security, which remains heavily dependent on the operations of the country’s only oil refinery, located in Pancevo.
The case has become a key test of Serbia’s ability to balance its traditional energy ties with Russia against increasing pressure from Western partners to reduce Moscow’s influence in the region’s strategic sectors.