Serbia wins short-term waiver on Russian oil sanctions

Serbia has obtained a three-month reprieve on sanctions affecting the Russian-owned oil company NIS, government officials, quoted by Reuters, confirmed on November 14, easing immediate concerns over fuel supplies ahead of winter.

Earlier this week, Serbia revealed that Russia’s Gazprom and Gazprom Neft, which together control 56% of NIS, had formally requested the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to allow the transfer of company control to a third party.

OFAC had initially imposed sanctions on Russia’s oil sector, including Gazprom, in January. However, the sanctions on NIS were repeatedly postponed and only came into force on October 8. With more than half of NIS owned by Gazprom and Gazprom Neft, the sanctions placed the company in a precarious position.

NIS operates Serbia’s only two oil refineries, supplying over 80% of the country’s petrol and diesel, and nearly all of its jet and heavy fuels. Being a landlocked country, Serbia depends on oil deliveries via Croatia’s Janaf pipeline, which has been disrupted since the sanctions took effect.

Serbia is not alone in facing challenges from U.S. sanctions. Neighbouring Bulgaria has passed legislation to take control of its only oil refinery from Russian oil giant Lukoil ahead of sanctions coming into force on November 21. Meanwhile, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has secured a one-year waiver from U.S. President Donald Trump to protect the country’s energy supplies.

The temporary reprieve provides Serbia with critical time to ensure energy security and negotiate longer-term solutions amid geopolitical pressures affecting the region’s energy sector.

By Tamilla Hasanova