NIS licence expires today; deadline also expires for MOL–Gazprom Neft negotiations

Today, September 30, the special licence from the U.S. Treasury (OFAC) that allows Serbia’s NIS oil company to operate normally expires, and the company is awaiting a response to its request for a new licence, as Danas writes.

According to NIS, business continuity, the operation of the oil refinery in Pančevo and the supply of the market are key to Serbia’s energy stability. NIS operates the country’s only refinery and provides about 80% of domestic fuel consumption.

Today is also the deadline for negotiations between Hungary’s MOL and Russia’s Gazprom Neft on the sale of the majority stake in NIS, as well as for the new gas arrangement between Serbia and Russia, the continuation of which was announced after a telephone conversation between Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Russian President Vladimir Putin.