Gazprom's Serbian affiliate receives new sanctions waiver from US
A Serbian oil company partly owned by Russian gas giant Gazprom has received another temporary reprieve from U.S. sanctions, allowing it to continue operating through Aug. 27, the company said on July 29.
Oil remains one of Russia's primary sources of revenue for financing its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. According to the Kyiv School of Economics Institute, Russian oil revenues are projected to reach $188 billion in 2025, in case sanctions enforcement is weak.
Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS) announced that the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a special license on July 28, postponing the full implementation of sanctions for a fifth time.
The waiver allows the company to continue its operational and contractual activities without disruption for another month.
NIS also noted that it had already submitted a formal application in March to be removed from the U.S. Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list. The company said it would continue to cooperate with U.S. authorities.
Serbian Energy Minister Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic also confirmed the extension would be valid for one month and added that a longer delay was not possible, Reuters reported on July 28. According to her, Serbia's top priority remains ensuring a stable supply of oil derivatives and working toward removing NIS from the sanctions list.
She also noted that the most important condition for lifting the sanctions is progress in the broader dialogue between the United States and Russia.
The U.S. Treasury initially imposed sanctions on Russia's oil sector on Jan. 10 and gave Gazprom Neft, a Gazprom subsidiary, 45 days to divest from NIS.
Gazprom Neft holds a 44.9% stake in the Serbian company, while Gazprom owns 11.3%, and the Serbian government retains 29.9%.
Gazprom Neft transferred a 5.15% stake in NIS to Gazprom on Feb. 26, reportedly in an effort to reduce exposure to sanctions.
NIS operates Serbia's only oil refinery, located in the town of Pancevo near Belgrade. Serbia sold a 51% stake in NIS to Gazprom in 2008 for 400 million euros (approximately $461 million).
