Vucic: U.S. Expects Main Points of Deal with Nis Oil Company Buyer by Jan. 23

Pancevo oil refinery (Photo: YTPrintScreen)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Jan. 1 that the U.S. expected all of the main points of a forthcoming contract between the Serbian NIS oil company's seller and buyer, which will most likely be Hungary's MOL, to be established by Jan. 23.

Vucic told the Serbian Broadcasting Corporation that there was no doubt that MOL, together with NIS and Serbia, had worked on obtaining a an operational license extension for NIS, adding that he believed that the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control would give a green light when presented with all of this. The U.S., which introduced sanctions against NIS due to its majority Russian ownership, has extended the company's operational license until Jan. 23, which means that crude oil will again be delivered to Serbia through the JANAF oil pipeline.

The Croatian oil pipeline company said in a press release on Dec. 31, 2025, that the U.S. administration had issued a license, valid until Jan. 23, for continuing oil deliveries to NIS.

The U.S. sanctions against NIS came into force on Oct. 9. One day earlier, crude oil supply to Serbia via JANAF was cut off. On Dec. 2, The Pancevo Refinery launched the process of shutting down its production facilities due to the lack of crude for processing. Since then, Serbia has been relying on state reserves and importing petroleum products. Serbian Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic said in an Instagram post that the license extension meant that the refinery in Pancevo could resume operation.