Serbian oil company NIS has been granted additional time to continue its operations after the United States extended its operating authorization until 20 February, according to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). The temporary approval allows NIS to remain active but only under a strictly defined and restrictive framework.
US authorities clarified that all permitted transactions must be fully isolated from the US financial system and must not involve US-based entities in any form. Additionally, activities carried out under the license must be limited strictly to NIS and may not benefit any other sanctioned company or individual, either directly or indirectly.
The authorization explicitly excludes transactions related to existing US sanctions regimes concerning Russia and Ukraine, as well as other sanction programs enforced by US institutions. Any breach of these conditions would invalidate the license. The previous operating permit, issued about three weeks earlier, was set to expire on 23 January.
The extension followed the submission of a preliminary sale and purchase agreement between Gazprom Neft and Hungary’s MOL to OFAC. The US administration identified this step as a prerequisite for granting the new extension, linking NIS’s continued operation to progress toward a change in ownership structure.