NIS asks OFAC for new license, current one expires Oct. 30
NIS has applied for a license to operate after October 30. OFAC has not announced a decision, and the license for talks on selling the Russian stake to MOL expires the same day.
The operating license that lets NIS do business under US sanctions expires on October 30, and on October 24 the company said it had applied for a new one. The request went to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), part of the US Treasury Department, and asks for a special license allowing operations to continue once the current one lapses. The statement does not say on what date the request was filed.
What does NIS say in its request?
According to the company’s statement, the request stresses NIS’s importance for keeping the domestic market supplied. The company says that “the regular operation of the Pancevo Oil Refinery is of key importance for preserving the energy stability of the Republic of Serbia.” In the same statement, NIS addressed the institutions backing it:
“The company NIS thanks all domestic and foreign institutions that support efforts to allow the company to operate without disruption.”
The statement was published on the morning of October 24: Biznis.rs carried it at 11:26 and Fonet at 12:40. The request names the Pancevo Oil Refinery as the base for processing crude oil and producing petroleum products for the domestic market.
What does the expiring license cover?
OFAC issued the current license at the end of September for one month, through October 30. According to Happy TV, it covers refinery processing, crude oil imports, technical maintenance and some of the transactions needed to secure supply.
The license is being extended in short increments. On July 31, OFAC extended it to August 28, and at the end of September for another month. Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic, the caretaker minister of mining and energy, said at the time that the extension was good news for Serbia, especially with the winter season approaching, and added that talks between OFAC and MOL on buying the majority Russian stake in NIS were continuing.
What is known about the decision?
There is no confirmation yet that the request has been approved, and no word on when a decision might arrive. Filing a request does not automatically extend the current license, so until US authorities decide, NIS has no confirmation that it can operate after October 30.
The license for negotiations on the sale of NIS, led by Gazprom and MOL, expires the same day, Biznis.rs reports. The two deadlines are tied to one date: one determines whether the Pancevo refinery keeps running as usual, the other whether talks on a new owner can continue without interruption.
In our October 22 article we reported that the license expired in eight days and that nothing had changed. Six days remain until the deadline, and the US authorities will decide on the request. NIS has not published further details on the timing of a decision or on how long a new permit might run.
