US extends NIS license until March 20

(Patria) - The US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has decided to extend the operating license for the Oil Industry of Serbia (NIS) until March 20, RTS reported.

NIS requested a new extension of its operating permit from the US administration last week, while a preliminary purchase agreement between Russian company Gazprom Neft and Hungarian MOL Group was submitted in January.

An OFAC response to that agreement is still pending. Washington's approval is crucial for NIS to be removed from the sanctions list, which came into effect in early October.

The largest oil company in Serbia was sanctioned due to its majority Russian ownership.

The aim of US sanctions targeting the Russian energy sector, which includes Serbia's largest oil company, is to prevent Russia from further financing its invasion of Ukraine.

Hungarian MOL Group confirmed on January 19 that it had signed the main terms of a binding framework agreement with Russian Gazprom Neft to purchase a 56.15 percent stake in NIS.

The group is in negotiations with ADNOC from the United Arab Emirates about its entry into NIS's ownership structure as a minority shareholder. This will also require approval from the US authorities.

NIS has a license to negotiate the exit of Russian ownership from the company until March 24.