NIS adjusts operations, Serbian market being supplied with required fuel volumes - Gazprom Neft
MOSCOW. Dec 3 (Interfax) - Serbia's Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS), part of Russia's Gazprom Neft , has adjusted its operations and is supplying the Serbian market with the required fuel volumes, Gazprom Neft said.
"Operations at Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS) have been complicated owing to the United States imposing restrictive measures that entered into effect on October 9, 2025. Production and commercial activities continue in an adapted format by taking into account existing external restrictions. NIS has made the necessary adjustments to its operations. For example, processing crude at the Pancevo refinery was temporarily suspended on November 25, 2025, owing to the cessation of oil imports by the Croatian operator of the Adriatic oil pipeline, JANAF, effective October 9, 2025, resulting from the U.S. implementing sanctions. The Serbian market is currently being supplied with petroleum products at the required volumes. Meantime, NIS' own oil production continues, thus allowing formation of certain crude reserves," the company said.
NIS management, with the support of the Serbian government, is taking every effort to minimize the effect of external factors and ensure the stable supply of products, while remaining a reliable partner for its customers and a responsible employer.
"NIS' operations, including account management and business continuity, are being carried out with the full and comprehensive support of the Serbian government. Constructive interaction and partnership between the company and Serbian state institutions are key to maintaining stability and enabling effective management of the current situation in the interests of the employees, partners, and the country's economy as a whole. NIS' shareholders are actively engaged in intensive multilateral dialogue in order to resolve the current situation as quickly as possible," according to the statement.
Serbia has not received from the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office for Foreign Assets Control a special license that would have allowed the continuation of operations for NIS, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said ion December 2.
NIS said on Tuesday evening that the Pancevo Oil Refinery had started suspending the operation of its production units due to the lack of crude oil for processing purposes as a result of the U.S. sanctions.
The NIS refinery was placed on hot standby on November 25 amid oil shortages.
The Serbian parliament is drafting an amendment that would allow Serbia to become the owner of NIS.
The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) previously issued a license valid until February 13, 2026, which approved negotiations between shareholders and other interested parties regarding changes to the NIS ownership structure.
The possible sale by sanctioned Russian oil companies of some assets to Hungarian partners was a topic for discussion between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Moscow, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said last week. Reuters had reported, citing Orban's chief of staff, that Hungary's MOL might acquire a stake in Serbia's NIS.
Russian co-owners are willing to sell their 56.15% stake in NIS, Serbian Energy Minister Dubravka Djedovic-Handanovic has said. "The name of the third party is not being disclosed, as these are business negotiations between serious companies," she said."
NIS was included in the U.S. SDN List in early 2025. In this regard, Vucic has said the U.S. was demanding that Serbia completely remove Russian capital from NIS. He recalled that the Serbian government sold a controlling stake in NIS to Gazprom Neft in 2008, and in the subsequent years NIS has generated substantial revenue for the country's budget and facilitated the development of many projects.
Currently, the main co-owners of NIS are Gazprom Neft with 44.85% and the Serbian authorities with 29.87%, while another 11.3% of NIS shares belong to JSC Intelligence, which is managed by Gazprom Capital LLC, which holds, among other things, the financial investments of the Gazprom Group . Gazprom directly owns one NIS share, and the Serbian company has minority shareholders, as well.
NIS is the only company in Serbia that explores for and produces hydrocarbons. The company has a large oil refinery in Pancevo and dominates Serbia's oil product market. NIS also has a chain of more than 400 filling stations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria and Romania.
