US Extends MOL License for NIS Talks Until August 28

The U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has extended until August 28 the license granted to Hungary's MOL, allowing it to negotiate with Russia's Gazprom Neft on the purchase and sale of Serbian company NIS, Serbian outlet RTS reported on Friday.

The previous license of this kind was valid until July 31.

Earlier, RTS also reported that OFAC had extended a special license for NIS, allowing it to conduct operations without hindrance.

In turn, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić on Friday expressed hope that an agreement on NIS could be reached in the coming days. "I will probably also talk with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar. I hope we can finalize this," RTS quoted Vučić as saying.

Earlier, Serbia and MOL signed a shareholders' agreement on the future management of NIS. Meanwhile, MOL's negotiations with Gazprom Neft on NIS continue. In addition to signing the purchase agreement, completing the deal requires additional regulatory approvals, the key one being from the U.S. OFAC.

As reported, MOL has agreed with Gazprom Neft on the purchase and sale of 56.15% in NIS. It is expected that the Hungarian company may later sell a minority stake in NIS to ADNOC (UAE). Furthermore, Serbia will be able to increase its stake in NIS by 5 percentage points in the future.

Currently, the main owner of the company is Gazprom Neft (44.85%), with another 11.3% owned by Intelligence JSC (managed by Gazprom Capital LLC). Gazprom directly holds one share in NIS. The Serbian government owns 29.87%, and the company also has minority shareholders.

In early 2025, NIS, as a subsidiary of Gazprom Neft, was included in the U.S. SDN List. Vučić stated then that the U.S. demands the complete withdrawal of Russian capital.

NIS is the only company in Serbia engaged in hydrocarbon exploration and production; it also owns a refinery in Pančevo with a capacity of 4.8 million tons per year. The company dominates the petroleum products market in its country, and its network of gas stations is also present in neighboring Balkan states, totaling more than 400 stations.