Minister: Deferral of U.S. Sanctions Against Oil Company Confirmed

Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic (BETAPHOTO/MINISTRY OF MINING AND ENERGY OF SERBIA/Emilija Jovanovic)

Official confirmation has arrived from the U.S. that sanctions against the Serbian NIS oil company will be deferred until April 28, Serbian Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic announced on March 29.

"We should use this respite in the best possible way -- to negotiate, ship and pay for as much oil as possible," she told the Serbian Broadcasting Corporation. The minister stressed that NIS had received approval again from the U.S. for its continued operation and supplying of the market, which allows it to do business with U.S. companies, financial institutions and citizens as well.

Last week, the Serbian government sent a letter to the U.S. administration in which it supported a petition by the Serbian NIS for another deferral of the sanctions imposed on the oil company. The U.S. previously delayed the enforcement of the sanctions in late February.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control blacklisted NIS on Jan. 10 due to its majority Russian ownership as part of a set of new sanctions against the Russian petroleum industry because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The Russian state-owned Gazprom Neft owns a 44.85 percent stake in NIS, its parent company Gazprom owns 11.30 percent, Serbia has a 29.87 percent stake, while 13.98 percent belongs to minor shareholders.