OFAC extends NIS licence until October 30

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has extended the licence for the operation of Naftna industrija Srbije (NIS) until 30 October 2026, Serbian media report. The previous licence expired today, 30 September, so the last-minute decision ensures the uninterrupted continuation of operations at Serbia’s largest oil company. The news was confirmed by Serbia’s Energy Minister, Dubravka Đedović Handanović, who stated: “We did our part of the work” – implying that the Serbian authorities have met all the American side’s requirements for the licence extension. NIS had applied to OFAC for a new licence on 24 September, shortly before the deadline expired. The company, the majority of whose shares are owned by the Russian giant Gazprom Neft, continues to operate under the U.S. sanctions regime; these temporary licences are the only thing keeping the Pančevo refinery working and the Serbian market regularly supplied with derivatives. In parallel with the licence issue, Belgrade is also working on changing NIS’s ownership structure: the Hungarian group MOL has agreed to buy the 56.15 percent stake from Gazprom Neft, an agreement whose negotiation deadline also expired today. OFAC’s decision comes on the same day Serbia extended its Russian gas supply agreement until the end of the year, giving Belgrade a double breathing space on the energy front.