OFAC granted NIS several sanctions waivers allowing it to import crude via Croatia’s Janaf pipeline while Hungary’s MOL completes its acquisition of the Russian-owned stake. The current NIS waiver expires on July 31.
“If the NIS licence is not extended, (market) supply will depend entirely on state reserves,” Djedovic Handanovic said.
MOL signed a provisional agreement in January to buy a combined Gazprom Neft and Gazprom 56 per cent stake in NIS. After several extensions, OFAC also gave companies until July 31 to complete the sale.
The Serbian Government owns 29.9 per cent of NIS, with the remainder held by small shareholders and employees.
(Reporting by Aleksandar Vasovic; Editing by Jan Harvey)