Serbia's Russian-owned NIS oil firm seeks another sanctions waiver from U.S.

MOL Magyar Olaj es Gazipari Nyrt

26/06/2026 20:30

BELGRADE, June 26 (Reuters) - Serbia's Russian-owned NIS (NIIS.BEL), which runs the country's only oil refinery, has applied for a new U.S. sanctions waiver ‌to continue operations after July 1, when the current one expires, the company said on Friday.
Without the waiver, NIS, which supplies up to 80% of the Serbian market and is majority owned by Russia’s Gazprom Neft SIBN.MM and Gazprom GAZP.MM, cannot import and process crude oil.
In a request to the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), NIS said that the waiver is needed for "the regular work …, for the orderly supply of the domestic market" and pointed to advanced negotiations on changing its ownership structure.
OFAC imposed sanctions against NIS in October over its Russian ownership, part of broader measures ‌targeting ⁠Moscow's energy sector following its invasion of Ukraine.
Washington has been pushing for the divestment of the Russian stake, and NIS has secured a series ⁠of temporary waivers in the interim.
OFAC also gave Hungarian oil and gas company MOL MOLB.BU until July 1 to complete negotiations over the acquisition of the 56.16% stake in NIS held by Gazprom Neft and Gazprom. Serbia holds a 29.9% stake in NIS.
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(Aleksandar Vasovic; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)
((aleksandar.vasovic@thomsonreuters.com))