Serbian oil company asks the US to postpone sanctions

This is stated in a company announcement, as reported by ‘European Pravda’.

NIS has applied to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Department of the Treasury for a new special licence so that the company can continue its operations without interruption after 16 June. This is the date on which the previous licence, issued by the US in April, expires.

“In its application, the company emphasises the importance of NIS’s uninterrupted operations to ensure a stable supply to the domestic market, particularly given the situation on the global oil market, and also points to the advanced stage of negotiations regarding changes to the ownership structure,” the statement reads.

Gazprom Neft and Gazprom’s investment arm hold a 56.16% stake in NIS, which operates Serbia’s sole oil refinery in the northern city of Pančevo and meets 80% of the Balkan country’s fuel needs.

In October, the United States imposed sanctions on NIS as part of broader measures targeting russia’s energy sector over Moscow’s war in Ukraine. The US insisted that russian companies divest their stakes in NIS.

Since then, the company has received several licence extensions from the US government whilst continuing negotiations on the sale of the russian shares. The main contender to purchase the NIS shares is the Hungarian oil and gas group MOL.

Source: European Pravda