Gazprom Neft transfers 5.15% of shares in Serbian NIS to Gazprom

MOSCOW. Feb 26 (Interfax) - Gazprom Neft has transferred 5.15% of the shares in the Serbian company NIS to Gazprom , the Belgrade Stock Exchange said.

Gazprom Neft previously owned 50% of NIS and Gazprom owned 6.15%. Gazprom Neft currently owns 44.85% of NIS' shares and Gazprom owns 11.3%.

Serbia owns another 29.87% of NIS' shares, and minority shareholders own the remaining shares.

Final negotiations are currently underway between NIS representatives and the United States Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), as U.S. sanctions against NIS are set to come into force on February 27.

Srbijagas CEO Dusan Bajatovic earlier said that issuing a special license to NIS could resolve the sanctions matter. Bajatovic cited the example of Gazprombank in the case of European sanctions, when the bank had been allowed to render certain activities, primarily related to payment for gas supplies from Russia.

Serbia has formed reserves of petroleum products for 90 days, and NIS itself has fuel reserves for another 90 days. Consequently, Serbia's fuel market would be provided with products for 180 days if sanctions were imposed against NIS. Hungary previously said that it was ready to assist Serbia if sanctions are imposed against NIS.

As reported, the United States imposed sanctions against two Russian oil companies, Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas , as well as their subsidiaries, on January 10. The Serbian subsidiary of Gazprom Neft, NIS, is also included in the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) List. Serbian President Vucic has said that the United States is demanding that Serbia completely withdraw Russian capital from NIS within 45 days. Meantime, Vucic recalled that the Serbian government sold control of NIS to Russia's Gazprom Neft in 2008, and NIS has contributed to significant revenues for the Serbian budget, as well as the development of many projects, over the past years.

NIS is the only company in Serbia engaged in hydrocarbon exploration and production, and it owns a large refinery in Pancevo. The company dominates the Serbian market for petroleum products, with a network of NIS petrol stations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, and Romania totaling over 400 stations. Gazprom Neft currently owns 50% of NIS, while Gazprom owns 6.15%. Serbia owns another 29.87% of the shares, with minority shareholders holding the rest.