OREANDA-NEWS  Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) The United States extended a special license to Serbian NIS, allowing it to operate freely, until August 28 (the current one was valid until July 31), the Serbian edition of RTS reports, citing sources.

The US OFAC is expected to decide on a license for Hungarian MOL to negotiate with Russian Gazprom Neft on the purchase and sale of NIS (this license is also valid until July 31).

Earlier, Serbia and MOL signed a shareholder agreement on the future management of NIS. At the same time, MOL's negotiations with Gazprom Neft on NIS are continuing. In addition to signing the purchase and sale agreement, additional regulatory approvals are required to complete the transaction, the key of which is the American OFAC.

As reported, MOL has agreed with Gazprom Neft on the purchase and sale of 56.15% in NIS. It is assumed that the Hungarian company may further sell a minority stake in NIS to ADNOC (UAE). In addition, Serbia will be able to increase its stake in NIS by 5 percentage points in the future.

Currently, Gazprom Neft is the main owner of the company (44.85%), another 11.3% of the shares belong to JSC Inteligens (under the management of Gazprom Capital LLC). Gazprom directly owns one NIS share. The Serbian authorities own 29.87%, the company also has minority shareholders.

At the beginning of 2025, NIS, being a "subsidiary" of Gazprom Neft, was included in the American SDN List. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said at the time that the United States was demanding the complete withdrawal of Russian capital.

NIS is the only company in Serbia engaged in the exploration and production of hydrocarbons, it also owns a refinery in Pancevo with a capacity of 4.8 million tons per year. The company dominates the petroleum products market in its country, and its network of filling stations is also present in neighboring Balkan countries, including more than 400 stations in total.