WASHINGTON – The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has extended the operating license for Serbia’s Oil Industry of Serbia (NIS) until 16 June, Radio Television of Serbia reported on Friday.
“The operating license for NIS has been extended by 60 days, which is very important for more stable planning of crude oil purchases, the secure operation of the Pančevo refinery, and reliable supply of petroleum products in the country,” Serbia’s Minister of Mining and Energy, Dubravka Đedović Handanović, said.
Serbia’s largest oil company has been under US sanctions since October 2025 due to majority Russian ownership. To lift the sanctions, the US administration is demanding the withdrawal of Russian owners.
Đedović Handanović assessed that the new license extension represents a “positive signal of progress in negotiations” between Russia’s Gazprom Neft and Hungary’s oil company MOL regarding the sale of the Russian stake in NIS. The sale will also require approval from OFAC.
The energy minister also announced that representatives of MOL would be in Belgrade on 19 April.
“Operational teams (will be in Belgrade) from Tuesday, so that we can discuss all the details,” she said.
She added that the state’s primary objective is to ensure that NIS is permanently removed from the US sanctions list, enabling the company to carry out long-term crude oil procurement.
Another goal, she said, is to increase Serbia’s ownership stake by five percentage points, which would give the state greater control over management and influence within the company.
Hungary’s MOL Group confirmed on 19 January that it had signed key terms of a binding framework agreement with Russia’s Gazprom Neft to purchase a 56.15% stake in NIS.
The deadline for signing the agreement on the new ownership structure of NIS, in which Serbia holds a minority stake is 22 May.
