Sanctioned Serbian oil firm's licence extended by US

The United States has extended a temporary operating licence for Serbia's sanctioned oil company, the latter's energy minister confirmed on Friday, as negotiations continue over the exit of Russian majority shareholders.

Washington's sanctions on the Petroleum Industry of Serbia (NIS), part of its crackdown on Russia's energy sector, have previously forced a months-long shutdown of the country's only oil refinery.

Production restarted earlier this month after a temporary reprieve was granted by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which was due to expire at midnight.

But according to Serbian Energy Minister Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic, the licence has now been extended until February 20.

"We have secured almost an additional month for NIS to continue operating, to be supplied via the Adriatic Oil Pipeline, JANAF, and for crude to continue arriving in Serbia," Handanovic told local TV Pink.

A previous March 24 deadline remains for negotiations over the full exit of Gazprom's interest in the company, with Hungarian energy giant MOL agreeing to basic terms with Russian firm earlier this week.

NIS's assets
After months of delay, Washington imposed sanctions on NIS on October 9, cutting off supplies to the refinery.

The move has had a strong impact in Serbia, a close Kremlin ally and one of the few European states not to sanction Russia over the war in Ukraine.

NIS employs about 13,500 people in Serbia and contributed over two billion euros ($2.5 billion) in tax revenue in 2024 or nearly 12 percent of the national budget.

The company operates around 330 petrol stations, roughly one in five nationwide, and if acquired by MOL, the combined network would exceed 380 stations.

The company also operates in Bosnia, Romania, Bulgaria and Angola.

Serbia sold a majority stake in NIS to Gazprom in 2008 for 400 million euros ($470 million), with several billion invested since.

NIS is currently 45 per cent owned by Gazprom Neft, which is under US sanctions, while the parent company, Gazprom, transferred its 11.3 per cent stake in September to its affiliated firm, Intelligence.

The Serbian state owns nearly 30 percent, with the rest held by minority shareholders. Officials say the state intends to raise its stake by 5 percent after a sale.

MOL has also confirmed that it is in talks with ADNOC, the national oil company of the United Arab Emirates, to join as a minority shareholder.