US postpones sanctions against Serbian oil company NIS for the last time:key company may be at risk
The United States for the fifth and final time postponed sanctions against the Serbian oil company Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS), which is controlled by Russia’s Gazprom. According to Reuters, the new sanctions list exemption has been extended until the end of August. No further extension is planned after that.
Serbian Energy Minister Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic noted that Belgrade is keen to keep the supply of oil products stable and called “the exclusion of NIS from OFAC sanctions a priority.” According to her, dialogue between the US and Russia remains an important condition for this.
NIS is a strategically important company for the Serbian economy. It operates the country’s only oil refinery in the town of Pančevo (near Belgrade), as well as the largest network of petrol stations and logistics infrastructure in the fuel sector.
According to the ownership structure:
– 44.9 per cent of NIS shares are owned by Gazprom Neft (Russia),
– 11.3 per cent by Gazprom,
– 29.9 per cent by the Serbian government,
* the rest is owned by minority investors.
It was Russian control over the majority of shares that caused NIS to fall under the sanctions of the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). The company was originally due to be completely blocked in January 2025, but has since been granted temporary licences to continue operating four times.
In July 2025, NIS applied for a temporary licence for the fifth time – and received it for one month, until the end of August. During this period, Gazprom Neft was again reminded of the requirement to withdraw from the Serbian company.
Analysts say that if sanctions are still imposed in full, it could destabilise the fuel market in Serbia, create logistical disruptions and cause a rise in prices for oil products.
An alternative could be the transfer of control from Russian shareholders to European or Middle Eastern investors – but so far the negotiations on this issue have not been officially confirmed.
NIS holds a leading position in the oil products market in Serbia and is actively developing its operations in Romania, Bulgaria and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The company is also involved in oil and gas exploration and production, production of lubricants and electricity generation.