US sanctions on Serbia's Petroleum Industry delayed for another 30 days

(Patria) - The United States Department of the Treasury has delayed sanctions on Serbia's Petroleum Industry (NIS) for another month, Radio Television of Serbia reported.

This is the fifth postponement of the full implementation of US sanctions announced due to the Russian stake in NIS ownership.

The company NIS previously submitted a request to the US Department of the Treasury for a special license postponing the full implementation of sanctions.

On March 14, NIS also submitted a request to the US Department of the Treasury for removal from the sanctions list.

The company was sanctioned on January 10 due to the so-called secondary risk, i.e., its connection with Russian Gazprom Neft, which is under Western sanctions because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

A ton of Brent crude oil on global exchanges is currently around $97.5. After Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the onset of the energy crisis in Europe, Serbia capped prices of gasoline and diesel.

In the meantime, Gazprom Neft transferred about five percent of its stake to Gazprom, a Russian company not covered by Western sanctions, so that Gazprom Neft's share in NIS now stands at less than 50 percent (44.85).

Russian companies still hold a majority stake in NIS even with the changed ownership structure.

NIS is the only company in Serbia engaged in oil exploration, production, refining, and natural gas production.