OFAC grants new licenses for NIS operations and sale negotiations

The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has granted the Serbian Oil Industry (NIS) a new operating license, enabling the company to maintain its business activities. This license permits NIS to continue with refinery processing, crude oil imports, and other essential transactions required for its operations and security.

In addition to the operating license, OFAC has extended the deadline for NIS's shareholders to negotiate the sale of the company's majority stake. The negotiation period for interested parties, including Hungary's MOL, to finalize the purchase of shares held by Russia's Gazprom Neft has been pushed to July 31.

NIS was initially included in U.S. sanctions imposed on the Russian energy industry in October 2025. Since then, MOL and Gazprom Neft have been granted licenses to negotiate the deal, with this latest extension marking a continuation of previous renewals. The ongoing negotiations are crucial for the future ownership and operational structure of NIS.

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The license allows NIS to maintain business operations, contracts and other agreement which include NIS or its operational dependent companies, including refinery processing, importing crude, transactions necessary to supply security and technical maintenance as well as finances.