The refinery of Serbia's national oil company NIS, which has been under US sanctions since October 9 due to its majority Russian stake, is in a state of "quiet mode" and has not yet stopped working, the Serbian national television RTS reports, quoted by BTA.
A decision is expected to be made today whether the refinery will be officially closed, as it has not yet received an operating license from the US Treasury Department.
A meeting on the NIS between Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and members of the country's energy stability and security team began a short time ago in the Serbian presidency building.
The meeting was attended by Serbian Prime Minister Đuro Matsut, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Sinisa Mali, Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Džedović Handović, Minister of Construction Aleksandra Sofronijević, Minister of Defense Bratislav Gašić, the director of "Serbiagaz" Dušan Bajtović, the Governor of the National Bank Jorgovanka Tabaković, the Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces Milan Mojsilović and other representatives of state institutions and companies, according to a statement from the Serbian President's press office.
In early January, the US announced that due to the war in Ukraine and the "secondary risk" it would impose sanctions on the only oil company in Serbia, NIS, which is majority owned by the Russian oil giant "Gazprom". Washington demanded the complete withdrawal of Russian capital from the company, but only at the end of November did the Russian side announce that it was ready to sell its stake.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that he would give the Russian side 50 days to sell its majority stake in NIS.
A few days ago, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban confirmed that the Hungarian company MOL is a candidate to purchase Russian assets in NIS, but did not specify whether he meant the entire share of the Russian side.
The Serbian state owns 29.9 percent of NIS shares, while the main owner remains “Gazprom Neft“ with 44.9 percent. At the end of September, the St. Petersburg-based company “Intelligence“ (Intelligence), affiliated with „Gazprom“, acquired an 11.3 percent stake in the parent company „Gazprom“.
NIS was placed under US sanctions on January 10, which came into effect on October 9 after being postponed eight times.