The US state regulator has given a 30-day extension on the imposition of sanctions against Oil Industry of Serbia, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said on Thursday.
The Serbian leader published the document, licence from the US Treasury Department for NIS transactions until March 28, and wrote on social media:
“We have received 30 additional days for Naftna Industrija Srbije. Good news for the citizens of Serbia.”
Gazprom Neft the previous day reduced its stake in Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS) from 50 per cent to 44.84 per cent, while Gazprom increased its stake from 6.15 per cent to 11.3 per cent in light of the expected imposition of US sanctions on NIS on Thursday morning, Belgrade Stock Exchange data show.
Two relevant notices Oil Industry of Serbia published on the exchange’s website on Wednesday.
Vučić discussed in the morning with Russian Ambassador Aleksandar Botsan-Kharchenko the development of co-operation and the importance of strengthening Serbia’s ties with Russia in the light of “growing pressure in the global energy sector.”
Belgrade had expected the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC, Office of Foreign Assets Control), at the request of NIS, supported by the Serbian and Hungarian governments, to delay the imposition of sanctions for a while. Serbia’s oil industry is of strategic importance, supplying 80% of the market in wholesale and 60% in retail, with more than 400 petrol stations, but so far there has been no information on the postponement of the measures.
Minister urges against panic
Serbian Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Đedović Handanović urged citizens not to panic because of the expected imposition of sanctions on Naftna Industrija Srbije on Thursday morning. According to her, the Serbian state has several plans and scenarios if there is no postponement.
She recalled that three months’ worth of fuel and lubricants are stored in the state reserves, but it would not be desirable to use up the stocks immediately. According to the Minister of Energy, the main problem is the payment of NIS for the supply of raw materials and the payment of petroleum products at petrol stations, as banks may refuse to work with the company under sanctions, but “state structures are working to prevent this from happening.”
The Serbian government’s working group held its first meeting with the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC, Office of Foreign Assets Control) in mid-January, and separately held preliminary consultations with the Russian side. On February 4, NIS sent OFAC a request for a 90-day delay of the sanctions, which were expected to be imposed on February 25. Vučić said in early February that the US embassy responded “that it would not work that way,” but continued to wait for OFAC’s response.
