Serbia's NIS's only refinery will resume operations.

The company received a license from the US Treasury to continue operations until January 23. In December, it announced the suspension of operations at its only refinery in the country due to a shortage of crude oil amid US sanctions.

Serbian oil refinery NIS has received a license from the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to continue operations until January 23, said Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Djedović-Handanović.

"Dear citizens, great news for our country at the end of the year! I'm pleased to inform you that NIS has received a license from the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to continue operating until January 23," she wrote on Instagram (owned by Meta, whose activities are considered extremist in Russia and are banned).

The minister clarified that the Pancevo refinery would be able to resume operations after 36 days. "Under Vučić's leadership, through diplomatic struggle, we achieved the near-impossible. We will protect our energy security, as we have done so far," Djedović-Handanović emphasized.

In early December, NIS announced the suspension of operations at its only refinery in the country due to a shortage of crude oil amid US sanctions.

As of September 2025, Gazprom Neft is the majority shareholder of NIS, holding 44.85% of the shares. Serbia holds 29.87%. Another 11.30% is owned by St. Petersburg-based Intelligence (managed by Gazprom Capital). The remaining stake is held by minority shareholders.

As the agency notedREUTERS , the refinery's annual capacity is 4.8 million tons, and it provides about 5% of the country's GDP and about a tenth of budget revenue.

NIS was placed under US sanctions in January of this year, under President Joe Biden. Washington has postponed them several times since then, but they went into effect in October. The United States insists on the complete withdrawal of Russian capital from the company for the restrictions to be lifted.

In November, Djedović-Handanović announced that the Russian owners were prepared to sell their 56.15% stake in NIS. The Wall Street Journal later reported that the UAE-based Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) was negotiating the purchase of the Russian stake. Hungarian oil and gas company MOL was also in talks to acquire a stake in NIS, according to Hungarian authorities .

Serbia will have enough fuel reserves until the end of January, President Alexander said.Vučić in December, but noted that there was no need to impose emergency measures. He announced that the Serbian side had decided to give Russia until January 15 to complete the sale of its stake in NIS, after which Belgrade intends to install its own administration in the company and then offer Russia "the highest possible price."

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