Serbia’s oil producer NIS has received a fresh waiver from U.S. sanctions authorities that runs until December 11, state broadcaster RTS reported on Friday. The exemption replaces a previous waiver from the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control that expires on Friday.
The renewed waiver permits NIS to keep importing crude oil pending the completion of a transaction that would transfer a Russian majority stake in the company to Hungarian energy firm MOL. The waiver is one in a series of temporary permissions granted by OFAC aimed at enabling the divestment of the Russian-held stake.
Sanctions background and divestment process
OFAC put sanctions on NIS in October 2025 as part of broader measures targeting Russia’s energy sector in response to the war in Ukraine. Since that designation, the office has extended multiple waivers to NIS so that the combined 56% stake controlled by Gazprom Neft and Gazprom can be sold to the Hungarian buyer.
Operational footprint and market role
NIS operates Serbia’s sole oil refinery and supplies the majority of the country’s fuel market. The company imports crude oil from a diverse set of countries including Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Nigeria, Guyana, Norway, the United States, Libya and Iraq. According to available information, NIS covers around 80% of domestic market demand in Serbia.
Implications and immediacy
The short-term waiver maintains the status quo for NIS operations while the divestment proceeds. The permission is narrowly tailored to allow continued crude imports until the sale of the Russian majority stake to MOL is completed, preserving refinery activity and fuel supply within Serbia for the duration of the extension.
Note: This article presents the current reported facts about the waiver, the sanctions designation and NIS’s operational profile as provided.