In a dispute over sanctions against Russia, Serbia said it had received a three-month reprieve from America. The deadline for the exit of the Russian majority owner of the Serbian oil company NIS, as requested by the US government, is now until February 13, said Serbia Energy Minister Dubravka Đedović Handanović.
Nevertheless, time is of the essence for Serbia: NIS is the country’s sole refinery operator and faces a shutdown in early winter due to ongoing US sanctions as crude oil stocks run low. Đedović Handanović said there were difficult decisions ahead.
That United States of America imposed sanctions on Russia’s oil industry in January. For NIS, these sanctions came into effect on October 8 after being postponed several times. Banks suspended payments and Croatian pipeline operator JANAF halted crude oil shipments. According to official estimates, the refinery will only be able to operate without supplies until November 25.
Serbia is considering providing compensation to Russia
Russian energy company Gazprom and its oil subsidiary Gazprom Neft together hold 56 percent of NIS. Serbia recently announced that two major shareholders have agreed to hand over their shares to the US Treasury Department authorities. The US ministry has given a three-month deadline for this, said Đedović Handanović. “I think we now have to make difficult decisions.” There was talk that the Serbian state would take over the share package and compensate the Russian side. Serbia currently holds 29.9 percent of NIS shares.
