Terms of deal on NIS to be referred to US Treasury Department by January 23 — Vucic

BELGRADE:  The terms of the deal to buy out Russian shareholders' stake in Serbia’s NIS ((Neftna Industrija Srbije) will be submitted to...

BELGRADE:  The terms of the deal to buy out Russian shareholders' stake in Serbia’s NIS ((Neftna Industrija Srbije) will be submitted to the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) no later than January 20, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said.

"Now the main provisions of the future contract - a clear definition of ownership rights, the structure of the future company, the percentage of shares, each company's share, as well as some other aspects of the business plan — are to be submitted to OFAC no later than January 19 or 20, so that they make a decision on extending the operating license for NIS by January 23, so that we could continue to function normally," he said in an interview with the Informer portal.

NIS owners have to sell their assets amid the US sanctions. In early January 2025, the US Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on Russian oil producer Gazprom Neft, its CEO Alexander Dyukov, and on Serbian NIS. The US has repeatedly postponed sanctions against the company since then. Restrictions came into force on October 9, 2025. Serbia’s energy ministry said on November 11, 2025 that NIS’ Russian owners has notified the United States about their readiness to hand over control of the company to a third party.

NIS is one of southeastern Europe’s largest vertically integrated energy systems. Its activities include prospecting for and production of oil and gas, oil refining, selling oil products, generating and selling electricity, implementing petrochemical projects. Its production facilities are located in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary. Its majority stakeholders are Gazprom Neft (44.85%), Serbia (29.87%), Gazprom Capital (11.3%). On December 31, 2025, NIS received an OFAC license to continue operations until January 23, 2026.

NIS is one of southeastern Europe’s largest vertically integrated energy systems. Its activities include prospecting for and production of oil and gas, oil refining, selling oil products, generating and selling electricity, implementing petrochemical projects. Its production facilities are located in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary. Its majority stakeholders are Gazprom Neft (44.85%), Serbia (29.87%), Gazprom Capital (11.3%).

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