US Treasury Extends MOL's NIS Talks License With Gazprom Neft to Aug 28

OFAC Extends MOL's NIS Negotiation Window to August 28

The US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control has extended until August 28 the license held by Hungary's MOL that allows it to continue negotiations with Russia's Gazprom Neft over the purchase of a controlling stake in Serbian oil company NIS. The previous authorization expired on July 31, according to a Friday report by Serbian broadcaster RTS. OFAC has also extended NIS's separate special license that permits the company to carry on its operational activities without disruption.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Friday he hopes an agreement on NIS can be reached in the coming days and that he may speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar to help finish the process. Serbia and MOL have already signed a shareholders agreement outlining future management of NIS, while talks between MOL and Gazprom Neft continue.

MOL has agreed with Gazprom Neft on the sale and purchase of 56.15% of NIS, but the transaction still requires a formal sale-purchase agreement and additional regulatory approvals, of which OFAC's consent is the most important. Under the emerging structure, MOL could later sell a minority stake in NIS to Abu Dhabi's ADNOC, and Serbia could raise its own shareholding by 5 percentage points in the future.

NIS, which was placed on the US SDN List in early 2025, is Serbia's only exploration and production company for oil and gas. It owns the 4.8 million tonne-a-year refinery in Pancevo and operates more than 400 fuel stations in Serbia and neighboring Balkan countries, dominating the domestic fuel market. Gazprom Neft holds 44.85% of NIS, another 11.3% is held by Intelligence, an entity managed by Gazprom Capital, and Gazprom itself directly owns one share. The Serbian state holds 29.87%, with minority investors holding the remainder.

What the NIS Deal Needs to Close, and Who Has Yet to Sign Off

Why OFAC Keeps Extending Rather Than Ending the Process

The repeated license extensions point to a managed exit rather than a deal the US is trying to block. Washington's stated position, as Vucic described it, is the full withdrawal of Russian capital from NIS. Extending MOL's negotiation window while keeping NIS's operational license active suggests OFAC accepts that a sudden cutoff would hit Serbian fuel supply, since NIS is the country's only domestic producer and the dominant fuel retailer. The US appears to be giving the parties room to complete a sanctioned wind-down on terms it can eventually approve.

The Deal Is Agreed in Principle, Not in Law

MOL and Gazprom Neft have agreed on a 56.15% purchase, and Serbia and MOL have signed a shareholders agreement. But a formal sale-purchase contract and the necessary permits, including OFAC's, are still outstanding. That makes Vucic's hope of an agreement in the coming days a political target rather than a legal certainty. The August 28 deadline is a negotiation window; if the contract is not signed by then, the parties will either need another extension or face a collapse of the current process.

What Each Side Stands to Gain or Lose

• MOL: Acquiring 56.15% of NIS would give the Hungarian company Serbia's only oil and gas exploration and production business, a 4.8 million tonne refinery and a network of more than 400 stations across the Balkans.
• ADNOC: A future minority stake in NIS would give the Abu Dhabi company a foothold in the Serbian and wider Balkan fuel market without taking on the full sanctions burden directly.
• Serbia: The state keeps its 29.87% stake and the option to add 5 percentage points later, while relying on NIS continuing to operate normally under the OFAC special license.
• Gazprom Neft: A completed sale would mean a forced exit from its key Balkan asset under sanctions pressure, likely on terms dictated more by US requirements than by market conditions.

What Remains Unstated

The purchase price and valuation are not disclosed, and neither are the conditions for ADNOC's potential entry or Serbia's future stake increase. It is also unclear whether OFAC will issue its final approval before or after the sale-purchase agreement is signed, and how exactly NIS would be removed from the SDN List once Russian capital is fully withdrawn. Those open questions make the August 28 deadline a milestone rather than a final decision point.

For MOL, Gazprom Neft and Serbia: What Happens Before the New Deadline

For the parties named in the deal, the next steps follow directly from the August 28 window:

• MOL: Convert the agreed 56.15% purchase into a signed sale-purchase agreement before the new deadline, while structuring the transaction so OFAC can approve the complete removal of Russian capital from NIS. MOL should also be ready to execute the planned minority sale to ADNOC and Serbia's future 5-point stake increase.
• Gazprom Neft: Treat August 28 as the effective negotiating deadline; a lapse in the license would freeze the sale process and leave NIS under SDN restrictions with no clear path to a commercial exit.
• Serbia: Use Vucic's talks with Putin and Magyar to lock in a fixed timeline for signature and approval. The special operational license keeps fuel supply running for now, but continued operations ultimately depend on OFAC's consent.