According to the Serbian business publication Parametar, the Serbian oil and gas company NIS has submitted a new request to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury for a special license that would allow the company to continue its operations beyond September 30. The current license expires on that very day.
NIS emphasizes that the company’s uninterrupted operations, the stable operation of the oil refinery in Pančevo, and the regular supply of petroleum products to the Serbian market are crucial for the country’s energy stability.
U.S. sanctions against NIS were imposed in early 2025 due to Russian ownership stakes in the company. Since then, OFAC has repeatedly issued temporary licenses allowing NIS to continue its operations.
At the same time, the process of restructuring NIS’s ownership continues. Hungary’s MOL is in negotiations with Gazprom Neft regarding the acquisition of a 56.15% stake in NIS. In June, the Serbian government and MOL already signed a shareholders’ agreement outlining the future governance model for the company should the deal be finalized.
To finalize the deal, not only is a purchase and sale agreement between MOL and Gazprom Neft required, but also additional approvals from regulatory authorities, primarily OFAC. Serbia has also agreed to the possibility of increasing its stake in NIS by another 5 percentage points.
Serbian authorities had previously reported that a company from the UAE might also participate in the future structure of the deal. This refers to the possible entry of a Middle Eastern investor into NIS’s capital following the completion of the deal with MOL.
As of June 30, 2026, Gazprom Neft owned 44.85% of NIS, the Republic of Serbia owned 29.87%, and another 11.3% was held by JSC Intelligence. The remaining shares are held by minority investors.
NIS remains Serbia’s key oil company. It owns an oil refinery in Pančevo, and the company’s network of gas stations also operates in neighboring countries in the region.
Currently, the main question for the Serbian energy market is whether OFAC will extend the license before the current permit expires on September 30, while negotiations regarding the change in NIS ownership are still ongoing.
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.
