Serbia’s state-owned oil company NIS has filed for a fresh U.S. license with the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to permit continued activity after June 16, the firm said on Wednesday. That date marks the scheduled end of the company’s present authorization.
NIS, which runs Serbia’s sole oil refinery, highlighted the centrality of its operations to the domestic fuel market and said that discussions to restructure ownership are in advanced stages. The request was submitted directly to OFAC, which oversees U.S. sanctions implementation.
The company has been operating under sanctions imposed by U.S. authorities in October that target its Russian ownership. Those measures form part of Washington’s broader sanctions regime directed at the Russian energy sector following the invasion of Ukraine. Since the sanctions were applied, NIS has operated under a series of temporary waivers while parties negotiate changes in ownership.
Last weekend, OFAC provided Hungarian oil and gas company MOL an extension until June 16 to continue negotiations to acquire a 56.16% stake in NIS currently held by Russia’s Gazprom Neft. The U.S. government has been urging a divestment of Russian ownership in the company.
Serbia’s government holds a 29.9% stake in NIS, with the remaining shares held by minority investors. The company has relied on repeated temporary authorizations as talks over ownership continue to progress.
Context and implications
- Application to OFAC aims to secure uninterrupted operations for an asset critical to Serbia’s domestic fuel supply.
- Ownership negotiations - including MOL’s bid for the 56.16% stake - remain ongoing under the oversight of U.S. sanctions policy.
- Temporary waivers have allowed NIS to operate while the divestment and restructuring process continues.
No new timelines or guarantees were provided beyond the company’s filing and the previously announced June 16 deadline for the current waiver.