OFAC extended the license for NIS

"As President Aleksandar Vučić indicated last night, good news from the U.S. arrived overnight. The license extension for nearly a month is particularly important at this time, when oil prices are rising on the markets day by day. The refinery in Pančevo continues to operate, and supply will remain reliable. Citizens do not need to worry or stockpile; we have sufficient petroleum products," said the Minister of Mining and Energy, Dubravka Djedović Handanović.

Djedović Handanović emphasized that there have been no shortages on the market despite more than a year of difficult operations for NIS and the fact that crude oil has not arrived in Serbia for almost 100 days.

The company NIS requested a new special license from OFAC on March 12, which would allow the company to continue its operational activities uninterrupted after March 20, when the previous license issued on February 20 expires.

In NIS’s request, the importance of the company’s regular operations for the Serbian economy is highlighted, particularly in light of global developments and the state of the world oil market, and it refers to advanced negotiations on changing NIS’s ownership structure. The Petroleum Industry of Serbia received a new special license from the U.S. Department of the Treasury on February 20, allowing uninterrupted operational activities of the company until March 20, 2026.

This license enabled NIS to maintain its business, contracts, and other agreements involving NIS or its operational subsidiaries, including oil import and refining, transactions necessary for supply security and technical maintenance, as well as financial settlements. OFAC had previously issued a license to shareholders and interested parties for negotiations on changes in NIS’s ownership structure, valid until March 24, 2026.

The U.S. OFAC imposed sanctions on NIS on October 9, 2025, due to its majority Russian ownership. Negotiations are ongoing between Gazprom Neft and the Hungarian company MOL regarding the acquisition of the Russian stake in NIS. MOL Group announced on January 19 that it had signed the main terms of a binding framework agreement with Gazprom Neft to purchase a 56.15 percent stake in the Serbian company Petroleum Industry of Serbia (NIS).

The parties plan to sign the purchase agreement by March 31, according to the statement, noting that the completion of the transaction requires, among other things, approval from OFAC and other state and regulatory authorities in Serbia. MOL Group is also reportedly negotiating with the national oil company of the United Arab Emirates, ADNOC, regarding its entry into NIS’s ownership structure as a minority shareholder.