The Russian-Serbian NIS has requested permission from the US to operate under sanctions.

Serbia's state-owned oil company (Naftna Industrija Srbije, NIS) has requested permission from the United States to conduct operations during negotiations on a change in ownership structure, the company's press service reported.

A request for a special license that would ensure the “unimpeded functioning of the company” was submitted to the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) yesterday, November 18.

NIS recalled that several days earlier, on November 14, the agency approved negotiations between the company's shareholders and other interested parties regarding changes to the ownership structure.

“In accordance with the current status of negotiations between shareholders and interested parties, a request was submitted to OFAC for a new license that would allow the company to continue operations during the negotiations,” the NIS statement said.

US sanctions against the Serbian company took effect in October. Washington announced restrictions on NIS back in early January, when Joe Biden was president , demanding that Belgrade completely disengage from Russian participation. However, the measures have been delayed since then.

As of September 2025, Gazprom Neft is the majority shareholder of NIS, owning 44.85% of the shares. The Serbian government owns 29.87%, and St. Petersburg-based Intelligence (managed by Gazprom Capital) owns another 11.30%. The remaining stake is held by minority shareholders.

In November, Serbian Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Djedović-Handanović confirmed that the US continues to demand Russia's complete withdrawal from the NIS. "We don't have a single day when the NIS can continue operating," she said.

Djedović-Handanović noted that changing ownership in seven to eight days is impossible. "Approval was received for ownership negotiations, valid until February 13 [2026], but not for the continued operation of NIS and the refinery," she explained.

Shortly before this, the minister stated that NIS's Russian owners had notified OFAC of their willingness to transfer control of the company to a third party. Croatian authorities have expressed a willingness to buy NIS.

President of Serbia AlexanderFollowing a meeting with Russian Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin and Gazprom Neft CEO Alexander Dyukov amid sanctions against NIS, Vučić stated: "Our Russian friends have understood our message. We understand their interests, and we will do everything necessary, both tactically and strategically."

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