The United States has denied a sanctions waiver to Serbian refinery Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS), majority owned by Russian state energy firms and sanctioned by the United States, forcing Serbia’s only refinery to shut down, Serbian President Aleksandar Vu?i? said on Tuesday.
“We expected to get a license from the US government for continued oil supplies to our refinery in Pancevo…but we have not received a positive decision from the US,” Vu?i? said at a briefing today, as quoted by the Tanjug news agency.
NIS last month applied for a special U.S. license to continue operations until talks for an ownership change conclude. The refinery’s management submitted in mid-November a request to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury for the issuance of a special license that would enable the company to operate without disruptions.
Gazprom Neft and Gazprom affiliates hold a majority stake in NIS, with the Serbian state owning the remaining 29.9%.
The U.S. has waived the sanctions against NIS several times since it included it in the sanctions on Russia’s oil industry in January this year. The sanctions on the Russia-owned refinery in Serbia came into effect in early October as the last waiver expired.
OFAC has issued a license until February 13, 2026, which only authorized negotiations between shareholders and other interested parties regarding changes in NIS’s ownership structure.
However, Serbian President Vu?i? said today that the Russians do not want to sell their stakes in the refinery.
“We have to accept that as a fact. Unequivocally, the Russians do not want to sell and are not keen on selling. There is no doubt. This is not about money, but about politics. And logically, they are entitled to that. They are the owners,” the Serbian president said.
Serbia will have sufficient fuel supply by the end of January, Vu?i? noted.
By Michael Kern for Oilprice.com
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