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.

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October 16, 2025

by AEA in News

Šušnjar: Croatia prepared to buy oil company NIS in Serbia

Minister of Economy Ante Šušnjar has said that Croatia is prepared to acquire Russian-owned oil company NIS in Serbia, which came under US sanctions today. Croatian state-owned oil pipeline operator Jadranski naftovod (JANAF) relies heavily on deliveries to NIS, and Šušnjar believes the acquisition would benefit both Croatia and Serbia.

The US sanctions against the Serbia-based oil company took effect after nine months of delays. JANAF stated yesterday that it had a license to continue deliveries to NIS until October 15, but Minister of Economy Ante Šušnjar said today that everything from the terminals and the pipeline had already been transported and that there were no more deliveries to Serbia.

Šušnjar: Croatia’s plan to buy NIS is not aimed at dominating Serbia’s retail market

Asked about plans to buy NIS, Šušnjar said that Croatia is prepared to do so to protect JANAF, whose business has relied on ties with NIS for the past 40 years. He emphasized that there is no intention to dominate Serbia’s retail market.

US sanctions against NIS will affect Croatia, Serbia, and BiH

According to Šušnjar, if Croatia were to take over NIS, it would ease the situation for both Croatia and Serbia. The sanctions also pose an additional challenge for Bosnia and Herzegovina, given that 20% of the country’s oil derivatives market is supplied by NIS’ refinery in Pančevo, he noted.

Business with NIS accounts for more than 30% of JANAF’s revenue, and suspending deliveries until the end of this year alone would cost Croatia around EUR 18 million, according to Stjepan Adanić, chairman of JANAF’s management board.

The US imposed sanctions on Russian state-owned Gazprom Neft, which until recently held a 50% stake in NIS, with its parent company Gazprom controlling a further 6.2%. After a reshuffle, Gazprom Neft now owns 44.9%, and Intelligence, a firm within Gazprom’s system, 11.3% of NIS. Serbia’s stake is 29.9%.

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