Serbia again asks US OFAC not to impose sanctions on Russian NIS

The Government of Serbia has sent a new request to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States Department of the Treasury to extend the operating license for Industrial Oil of Serbia (NIS) for an additional period of 180 days, the Ministry of Mines and Energy announced.

The current OFAC license for NIS expires on July 29th.

The responsible minister, Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic, stated that Serbia does not deserve to sanction NIS and that they have reiterated to the US administration the facts, including the measures being taken to ensure that NIS meets the conditions set regarding the ownership of Gazprom Neft.

She added that sanctions against this Russian company would seriously undermine the functioning of the Serbian economy and the energy security of Serbia and the region.

"The extension of the license would help ensure the supply of crude oil to the Pancevo refinery in a commercially sustainable manner," the minister stressed.

It was announced that Serbia is cooperating with American and Russian partners to find a permanent solution for the NIS, which would enable secure supplies of crude oil.

The US imposed sanctions on NIS on January 10 over its ownership stake in Russian state-owned company Gazprom Neft, in an effort to prevent Russia from using energy sector revenues for the war in Ukraine.

Gazprom and its subsidiary Gazprom Neft own 56.15% of NIS shares. The rest is owned by the Serbian state.

The price of a ton of Brent crude oil on world exchanges is currently around $97.5. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the energy crisis in Europe, Serbia has imposed restrictions on the prices of gasoline and Eurodiesel.

In 2008, Serbia sold 51% of NIS to Gazprom Neft for 400 million euros. In May 2022, Gazprom Neft sold 6% of its shares in its parent company, Gazprom, which is not subject to European Union sanctions.

NIS is the only company in Serbia that carries out oil exploration, production and processing at the Pančevo refinery, which is also owned by Gazprom Neft, as well as natural gas production.