Serbia seeks sanctions waiver from US for oil firm NIS, once more

BELGRADE (Reuters) – Serbian oil firm NIS, majority-owned by Russian Gazprom Neft and Gazprom, has submitted a second request to the U.S. for a waiver of sanctions, the CEO of state gasoline firm Srbijagas mentioned on Wednesday.

The sanctions may lead to crude provide cuts for NIS, which operates a single oil refinery in Serbia with annual capability of 4.8 million tons that covers a lot of the Balkan nation’s wants.

The U.S. Treasury’s Workplace of Overseas Belongings Management (OFAC) initially positioned sanctions on Russia’s oil sector on January 10, and gave Gazprom Neft 45 days to exit possession of NIS.

“By their (NIS) legal professionals, … they’ve knowledgeable OFAC they had been looking for a delisting from the sanctions record,” Srbijagas CEO Dusan Bajatovic instructed RTS public broadcaster. Srbijagas can also be partnered with Gazprom.

After the primary request by NIS for a sanctions waiver on February 4, the OFAC delayed sanctions for 30 days on February 27 to permit the corporate to discover a answer with the Russian firms.

“Everyone knows that no matter we do, we will not end it in 30 days,” Bajatovic mentioned, indicating the time-frame was inadequate for the corporate to make the changes wanted.

On February 26, Gazprom Neft transferred stakes of round 5.15% in NIS to Gazprom in an try to chase away sanctions.

Bajatovic mentioned on Wednesday that such a transfer ought to have been ample to safe elimination of sanctions.

The adjustments imply Gazprom Neft now not has an absolute majority in NIS. They observe an analogous change in 2022 when the corporate averted EU sanctions imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

It was unclear whether or not an analogous transfer would fulfill U.S. authorities.

Gazprom Neft now owns 44.85% of NIS, whereas Gazprom has 11.3%. The Serbian authorities holds an additional 29.87% of stakes, with small shareholders accounting for the rest.

NIS imports about 80% of its wants via Croatia’s pipeline operator Janaf, whereas the rest is roofed by its personal crude oil manufacturing in Serbia. In 2024, the 2 firms agreed over the transport of 10 million tons of crude oil by December 2026.

Final week, Croatia’s financial system minister Ante Susnjar mentioned Janaf was mulling the acquisition of total Russia’s stake in NIS.

(Reporting by Aleksandar Vasovic; Modifying by Bernadette Baum)