Serbia is reportedly preparing an amendment to the draft budget that would allow the state to take ownership of the Russian-owned oil company, Petroleum Industry of Serbia (NIS), which is currently sanctioned by the US.
The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Russia’s oil sector in January, including Serbia’s NIS, which is majority-owned by Russia’s Gazprom Neft. Washington granted NIS several waivers before the sanctions took effect in October.
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According to Reuters, the Serbian parliament will begin debating budget amendments that could allow Belgrade to take over NIS on Wednesday afternoon or Thursday.
Ana Brnabic, a close ally of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, told Euronews that the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) has prepared the package.
“One of the amendments will set out the circumstance that at some point we will take over NIS,” Brnabic said.
Vucic warned on Tuesday that the NIS refinery will shut down in four days if the United States does not lift sanctions, saying the closure would threaten fuel supplies ahead of winter.
On Nov. 21, additional US measures targeting Russia’s two largest oil producers, Rosneft and Lukoil, aimed at curtailing Moscow’s oil revenue and increasing pressure on the Kremlin over the war in Ukraine, came into force.
New US sanctions could leave nearly 48 million barrels of Russian crude stranded at sea, forcing dozens of tankers to seek new destinations and reshaping global oil flows, according to Bloomberg.
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