US Postpones Sanctions on Russian-Owned Serbian Oil Firm Fifth Time

The United States has postponed sanctions against the Serbian oil company Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS), which is majority-owned by Russian firms Gazprom Neft and Gazprom, for the fifth and final time, extending the delay by one month. NIS operates Serbia's only oil refinery in Pančevo, supplying the majority of the country's fuel needs and playing a critical role in regional energy security. The Serbian government, led by Energy Minister Dubravka Đedović Handanović, has engaged in intense diplomatic efforts with the U.S. to secure this extension, emphasizing the potential disruption to Serbia and the Western Balkans' fuel supplies if sanctions were enforced. Since January, the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has required Gazprom Neft to divest its stake within 45 days as part of sanctions targeting Russia's energy sector amid the war in Ukraine. Serbia, not an EU member and reliant on Russian energy imports, has requested a longer 180-day waiver, but the U.S. has limited the postponement to one month, signaling no further extensions. The situation highlights Serbia's delicate position balancing its energy needs between Russian ownership interests and U.S. sanctions policy.