Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on February 27 that the US Treasury Department had postponed sanctions on Serbia's largest oil and gas company for 30 days.
"We have 30 more days for Serbia's oil and gas industry. Good news for the people of Siberia" - Mr. Vucic informed.
Last December, the Biden administration announced that it would impose sanctions on Serbia's Naftna Industrija Srbije oil company.
Russia's Gazprom and Gazprom Neft hold a majority stake in Naftna Industrija Srbije.
In January 2025, the US imposed the largest sanctions on the Russian oil and gas industry. Accordingly, Gazprom Neft has 45 days to withdraw its ownership of shares in Naftna Industrija Srbije.
Serbia has long faced criticism for allowing Gazprom Neft to hold up to 50% of shares and Gazprom to hold an additional 6.15% of shares in Naftna Industrija Srbije. The Siberia government only owns 29.8% of the country's main oil and gas company.
On February 26, Gazprom Neft transferred about 5% of its shares to Gazprom to reduce the impact of upcoming sanctions.
Naftna Industrija Srbije is a supplier of about 80% of crude oil consumption in Siberia, making the country almost completely dependent on Russia.
Naftna Industrija Srbije is the only company in Serbia involved in hydrocarbon exploration and production, and owns a large refinery in Pancevo. The company dominates Serbia's petroleum products market, with a network of NIS gas stations in Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria and Romania, totaling more than 400 stations.
According to Politico, Hungarian oil and gas company MOL has expressed its willingness to increase supply to Serbia. "serbia can always be trusted in MOL Group. We are ready to increase supply according to our capacity, and even double the amount of fuel supplied to Serbia," said Csaba Zsoter, CEO of MOL Group's fuel branch last week.
