Serbia's oil and gas company NIS has submitted a second request to the US for a sanctions exemption, the CEO of state-owned gas company Srbijagas informed on March 20.
"Through lawyers, the NIS has informed OFAC that it is seeking to remove its name from the sanctions list," CEO Srbijagas Dusan Bajatovic told RTS public broadcaster.
NIS is majority owned by Russia's Gazprom Neft and Gazprom, while Srbijagas are also Gazprom's partners.
The US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on Russian oil companies on January 10 and gave Gazprom Neft 45 days to divest from the NIS.
The US sanctions could lead to a cut in crude oil supplies for NIS - the only refinery operator in Serbia with an annual capacity of 4.8 million tons, meeting most of the country's oil demand.
The first sanctions exemption request was proposed by the NIS on February 4. On February 27, OFAC postponed the sanctions for 30 days so that the NIS could have time to find a solution with Russian companies.
"We all know that no matter what we do, we can't complete it within 30 days," said Dusan Bajatovic, pointing out that this is not enough time frame to make the necessary adjustments.
On February 26, Gazprom Neft transferred about 5.15% of its NIS stake to Gazprom to reduce the risk of sanctions. Dusan Bajatovic said on March 19 that the move was enough to ensure the lifting of the sanctions.
The changes mean Gazprom Neft no longer holds an absolute majority at the NIS. A similar change was made in 2022, which would help avoid EU sanctions against Russia. It is not yet clear whether a similar move will be approved by the US.
Gazprom Neft owns 44.85% of NIS' shares, while Gazprom holds 11.3%. The Serbian government holds 29.87% of NIS' shares, the rest belong to small shareholders.
NIS imports about 80% of its oil via Croatia's Janaf pipeline operator, the rest coming from NIS's crude oil production in Serbia. In 2024, the two companies agreed to transport 10 million tons of crude oil before December 2026. Last week, Croatian Economy Minister Ante Susnjar said that Janaf was considering buying all of Russia's shares in the NIS.
