Serbia has been temporarily exempted from US sanctions imposed on its only oil refinery, which is mostly owned by the Russian energy giant Gazprom - Serbian Energy Minister Dubravka Dedovic announced.
The Serbian Oil and Gas Industry Group (NIS) said in early December that it was forced to temporarily suspend operations at its only refinery due to crude oil shortages, caused by sanctions.
The US imposed restrictions on this company in early October after months of delays.
NIS is a leading energy company in the Balkans with a large oil refinery located in Pancevo, near Belgrade, and a regional network of more than 400 gas stations. Russia's Gazprom Neft Group is the largest shareholder with about 45%, and the Serbian state holds an additional 30%.
The Serbian Minister of Energy praised this exemption as a major achievement that initially "seems almost impossible".
The NIS has received a license from the US Office for Overseas Assets Control (OFAC) allowing it to continue operating until January 23. This means that the Pancevo oil refinery will be able to resume operations" - Mr. Djedovic declared, while praising the country's diplomats and their unremitting efforts to bring this important facility back to operation.
This announcement was made after Russian Ambassador to Serbia Aleksandr Botsan-Kharchenko confirmed that Gazprom Neft is negotiating the sale of its shares to help NIS evade Washington sanctions. He declined to provide further details, emphasizing that he personally did not participate in the ongoing negotiations.
