Serbia's NIS wants to lift new sanctions on crude oil imports

The Serbian-owned NIS Oil Company has asked the United States for a second waiver of sanctions to allow crude imports. This is while they await a sale to Hungary's MOL.

NIS is responsible for 80% of the fuel requirements in Serbia. It operates the only oil refinery, located in Pancevo in the north of the country. In October, the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned NIS as part of measures targeting Russia's oil sector in response to Moscow's war against Ukraine. The U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control gave NIS until the end of March last December to negotiate the divestment from majority stakes owned by Russia's Gazprom Neft & Gazprom.

In a statement released on Friday, the company stated that the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control received the motion on February 12. The company did not specify how long the waiver would be granted.

The previous waiver expires February 20. The NIS stressed the importance of regular work by the company to the?economy of... Serbia.

The extension of the operating licence would give interested parties enough time to complete these discussions.

MOL, a subsidiary of Hungary's MOL, announced on January 19 that it had signed a binding agreement with Russian firms to purchase their stake in NIS.

Gazprom holds a stake of 11.3% in NIS and Gazprom Neft a stake of 44.9%. The Serbian government owns 29.9% of NIS, with the rest owned by small shareholders and employees. (Reporting and editing by Barbara Lewis; Aleksandar Vasovic)

(source: Reuters)