Gazprom Refiner Gets Fresh Reprieve on US Sanctions, Vucic Says

(Bloomberg) -- Naftna Industrija Srbije d.d., a refiner controlled by Russia’s Gazprom PJSC, won another reprieve on US sanctions, which have been postponed until June, President Aleksandar Vucic said on Saturday.

“Serbia managed to win another delay in sanctions against NIS, this time for two months, until June 27,” Vucic said in an Instagram post. “Thanks to our American partners for understanding the position of Serbia.” 

The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control in January imposed sanctions on the company, known as NIS, in one of its most aggressive moves yet against Russia’s oil industry.

The latest deferral marks the third time sanctions have been postponed, following pleas by Vucic. The first two delays were for 30 days each.

NIS’s main refinery in Pancevo, just east of Belgrade, has relied on crude imports through a pipeline in neighboring Croatia. Anticipating that the ever-tightening sanctions may render the pipe unusable for NIS, Serbia has made plans to link to crude supplies from the Druzhba pipeline via Hungary.

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