Gazprom’s NIS can restart Serbian refinery as US suspends sanctions

Croatian oil pipeline operator JANAF said it received a license from the United States and that it is prepared to resume supply to NIS. The Serbian company, controlled by Russian state-owned Gazprom, came under American sanctions and ceased fuel production a month ago.

Serbian officials announced that the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Treasury Department has issued a license to NIS – Naftna industrija Srbije – to restart operations at its refinery. They said the approval lasts until January 23. It means the country’s only refinery can work again after almost three months since oil deliveries ceased.

The Serbian company, controlled by Russian state-owned Gazprom, came under US sanctions in January. After several postponements, the punitive measures came into force in early October. The oil refiner and fuel station chain operator halted production a month ago.

Croatian state-owned oil pipeline operator Jadranski naftovod (JANAF) said it has obtained a US license, valid also until January 23, in cooperation with the Government of Croatia. The company is “fully prepared to immediately ensure uninterrupted transport and supply of crude oil to the Pančevo refinery,” the announcement reads.

Serbian public broadcaster RTS learned from unnamed sources familiar with the matter that President Aleksandar Vučić earlier spoke to OFAC and the US Department of State, as well as with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. The negotiations between Gazprom and Hungarian MOL about the sale of the entire Russian majority stake could be completed before the license expires, according to the report.

Notably, it could take several weeks to restart the refinery, located near Belgrade.