According to The Serbian Economist, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury has extended a special license to the Croatian company JANAF, allowing it to continue transporting crude oil for the Serbian company NIS until September 30, 2026.
The company reported that it received the license extension with the assistance of the Croatian government and U.S. legal advisors. The authorization allows it to continue fulfilling its existing contract with NIS within the framework of the U.S. sanctions regime.
Thus, crude oil deliveries via the Adriatic Pipeline can continue for at least another month. The oil arrives by sea at the JANAF terminal in Omišalj on the island of Krk, after which it is transported via the pipeline system toward Serbia and used by the NIS refinery in Pančevo.
This decision is of critical importance for Serbia. The refinery in Pančevo is the country’s only large oil refinery and meets about 80% of the Serbian market’s demand for petroleum products. The facility’s design capacity is up to 4.8 million metric tons of crude processed per year.
NIS itself received a separate special license on August 28. It is also valid until September 30 and allows the company to continue oil refining, crude oil imports, financial transactions, technical maintenance, and other operations necessary to ensure a stable supply to the market.
The extension of the license is particularly important given the problems with alternative supply channels. Due to low water levels in the Danube, the capacity to import fuel by barge has been significantly reduced this summer. In July, fuel imports via this route amounted to only about a quarter of the planned volume, which has increased Serbia’s dependence on the Pančevo refinery and supplies via JANAF.
NIS and JANAF are bound by a three-year contract for the transportation of up to 10 million metric tons of crude oil, which remains in effect until December 2026. Actual supply volumes depend on the amount of oil that NIS purchases and delivers to the Omišalj terminal.
The main issue now concerns the change in NIS’s ownership structure. Hungary’s MOL is in talks with Gazprom Neft regarding the purchase of a 56.15% stake in the company. A potential deal is seen as a long-term way to remove NIS from U.S. sanctions. OFAC has also issued separate temporary licenses to facilitate the negotiations.
U.S. sanctions against NIS took full effect in October 2025 due to Russian control over the company. Since then, OFAC has repeatedly issued temporary licenses, allowing Serbia to maintain the refinery’s operations and oil shipments through Croatia for the duration of negotiations regarding the sale of the Russian stake.
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According to the “Serbian Economist,” Serbia’s economic ties with the European Union are now significantly more extensive than its trade with Russia, while Belgrade’s main dependence on Moscow remains primarily in the energy sector, said Andon Sapundži, Serbia’s ambassador to Ukraine.
According to him, about 70% of Serbia’s exports and imports go to European Union countries, with another approximately 15% going to countries in the region that are candidates or seeking to join the EU, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Albania.
“The remaining countries account for the rest of Serbia’s foreign trade, including the United States, China, and Russia. Russia’s share is approximately 7–8%, and a significant portion of this trade consists of energy resources, primarily natural gas,” Sapundži said in an interview with “Apostrophe.”
According to him, dependence on Russian energy resources remains one of the most sensitive aspects of Serbian-Russian economic relations, which is why Belgrade is working to diversify its sources and supply routes.
Separately, the ambassador commented on the situation surrounding Serbia’s largest oil and gas company, NIS, which has come under U.S. sanctions due to Russian ownership stakes.
According to him, the process of changing NIS’s ownership structure is in full swing. Serbia is discussing the company’s future structure with Hungary’s MOL, while negotiations with Russia’s Gazprom Neft are ongoing. To finalize the deal, appropriate approvals under the U.S. sanctions regime are required, among other things.
Sapundži identified Serbia’s two main priorities as maintaining energy security and finding a long-term, sustainable ownership structure for NIS.
The company is of strategic importance to the country’s economy, as it operates Serbia’s only oil refinery in Pančevo.
At the same time, the diplomat emphasized that a change in trade structure does not mean Serbia is completely abandoning its economic relations with Russia.
Belgrade, meanwhile, continues to pursue EU accession. According to Sapundži, European integration remains a strategic priority for the country, although Serbia’s refusal to join sanctions against Russia is creating difficulties in negotiations with Brussels.
According to Serbian Economist, the authorities of the Serbian city of Niš have taken another step toward the construction of a new state-owned data center worth 50 million euros: the city council approved the transfer of a 37,400-square-meter plot of land near Niška Banja to the Republic of Serbia.
According to the city council’s decision, the undeveloped plot, covering 3.74 hectares, is to be transferred to the state free of charge. The final decision must be approved by the Niš City Assembly. The plot is located near the IMI industrial complex in the direction of Niška Bana.
The preliminary cost of the project is estimated at approximately 50 million euros. The exact technical specifications of the future data center have not yet been officially published, but earlier reports mentioned a capacity of several dozen megawatts and the facility’s use not only for storing government data but also as part of a broader digital infrastructure for southern Serbia.
One of the most interesting features of the project previously cited was the possibility of using the heat generated by the server equipment for Niš’s district heating system. Officials spoke of the potential to provide heat to up to 8,000 apartments.
The project is of strategic importance to Niš. The city is the main economic and transportation hub of southern Serbia, located on the routes to North Macedonia and Bulgaria, and already has a university, a Science and Technology Park, and a significant electronics and IT industry cluster.
Locating the national data center in Niš will also allow for the geographic distribution of the country’s critically important digital infrastructure. Currently, its main national hub is the data center in Kragujevac.
In April 2026, new 8 MW modules were commissioned at the Kragujevac National Data Center, bringing the complex’s total power capacity to 14 MW. A new supercomputer based on NVIDIA graphics processing units was also launched there.
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According to “Serbian Economist”, the Serbian company NIS has been granted another month to operate without restrictions from the U.S. OFAC has extended the company’s special license until July 31, said Serbia’s Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Jedović-Khandanović.
The previous license was valid until July 1. For Serbia, this means that the country’s key oil company will continue its normal operations for the time being, including the operation of the refinery in Pančevo and its network of gas stations.
At the same time, negotiations are ongoing between Hungary’s MOL and Gazprom Neft regarding the purchase of a stake in NIS. Earlier reports indicated that the deal involves a 56.15% stake. Additional regulatory approvals are required to finalize the deal, the most important of which remains approval from the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
Serbia and MOL have already signed a shareholders’ agreement regarding the future management of NIS. The potential deal structure may also include the subsequent sale of a minority stake held by ADNOC of the UAE and the possibility for Serbia to increase its stake in the company by 5%.
Currently, Gazprom Neft remains NIS’s largest shareholder with 44.85%, while another 11.3% is held by an entity managed by Gazprom Capital. The Serbian government owns 29.87%.
NIS’s problems arose after the company, as a subsidiary of Gazprom Neft, was added to the U.S. SDN List in early 2025. President Aleksandar Vučić stated at the time that the U.S. was demanding the complete withdrawal of Russian capital from the company.
For Serbia, NIS is not just a major business but a strategic asset. The company is the only one in the country engaged in the exploration and production of hydrocarbons; it owns an oil refinery in Pančevo with a capacity of 4.8 million metric tons per year and dominates the petroleum products market. Its network includes more than 400 gas stations in Serbia and neighboring countries.
The extension of the license until July 31 eliminates the short-term risk to the fuel market, but does not resolve the main issue—who will control NIS after Russian capital withdraws, and under what conditions Serbia will retain influence over the country’s key energy company.
According to Serbian Economist, Serbia has concluded negotiations with Hungary’s MOL regarding a shareholder agreement concerning NIS and will be able to acquire an additional 5% stake in the Serbian oil company, provided that MOL reaches an agreement with Gazprom Neft to buy out the Russian stake and the deal receives approval from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
This was announced by Serbia’s Minister of Mining and Energy, Dubravka Jedović-Handanović.
Serbia currently owns 29.9% of NIS shares. Russia’s Gazprom Neft and Gazprom collectively control about 56.2% of the company. Hungary’s MOL is negotiating the purchase of this stake, but the deal requires approval from OFAC due to sanctions related to Russian participation in NIS.
According to Jedović-Handanović, the purchase of an additional 5% stake will strengthen Serbia’s position in approving and blocking decisions of strategic importance to the country’s economy. This is crucial for Belgrade, as NIS controls Serbia’s key oil infrastructure, including the country’s sole oil refinery in Pančevo.
As part of the agreements, MOL also committed to maintaining operations at the Pančevo refinery at least at the level of average annual capacity over the last four years prior to the imposition of U.S. sanctions.
For Serbia, the deal involving NIS is one of the key energy issues of 2026. Belgrade needs to simultaneously maintain the stability of fuel supplies, reduce sanctions risks, and retain its influence over a company that is of systemic importance to the country’s economy.
https://t.me/relocationrs/3011
Serbian entrepreneur Bogoljub Karić said he is ready to join negotiations on the purchase of the Russian stake in Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS) and offer around EUR 2 billion for it, the Telegram channel “Serbian Economist” reports. His appearance among potential buyers may change the configuration of the struggle for Serbia’s largest oil and gas company.
According to Serbian media, Karić said that a group of local industrialists is ready to submit an offer “that cannot be refused.” According to him, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as the management of the company itself, were informed of the intention to buy out NIS shares. Karić also claims that the Russian side received the corresponding letter of intent.
Vučić, commenting on this initiative, reacted with irony, saying that in Serbia “two people with two billion euros have already been found,” and expressed hope that these funds would be invested in the country’s economy. Reuters previously reported that the little-known Serbian group Senator had submitted an application to OFAC to purchase the Russian stake in NIS for $2.35 billion.
The issue of NIS’s future has intensified amid U.S. sanctions pressure on Russian energy assets. Washington demands the withdrawal of Russian shareholders from the Serbian oil company, and the deadline for completing the deal has been set for May 22. At the same time, any deal will require not only the consent of the current shareholders and the Serbian authorities, but also approval from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control — OFAC.
In parallel, Belgrade is holding talks with Hungary’s MOL. Earlier, MOL signed an agreement to purchase the Russian stake in NIS, while the Serbian authorities, for their part, are seeking additional guarantees regarding the operation of the oil refinery in Pančevo — the only refinery in the country. The stability of its operations and the supply of fuel to the domestic market remain key conditions for Belgrade.
At present, Gazprom Neft remains the largest shareholder of NIS, with a stake of about 44.85%, while another 11.30% belongs to a structure linked to the Russian side. The Republic of Serbia owns approximately 29.87% of the shares, and the remaining securities are held by minority shareholders.
Karić’s public entry into the process strengthens the intra-Serbian scenario around NIS. Whereas Hungary’s MOL was previously named as the main contender, the possibility is now being discussed that the Russian stake could pass to Serbian capital. However, such an option remains complicated: it depends on the position of the Russian shareholders, the Serbian government, U.S. sanctions procedures, and the readiness of new investors to ensure not only the price of the deal, but also the stable operation of the country’s entire oil infrastructure.
NIS is Serbia’s largest oil and gas company. It is engaged in the exploration and production of oil and gas, oil refining at the Pančevo refinery, wholesale and retail trade in petroleum products, and also manages a network of filling stations in Serbia and the region.
Bogoljub Karić is a Serbian entrepreneur, one of the country’s best-known businessmen of the 1990s and 2000s. His business interests have historically been connected with the banking sector, construction, telecommunications and industrial projects.
