On Tuesday, Serbia's Energy Minister Dubravka Djedović Handanović announced that the Russians are ready to transfer control of the company to a third party and have contacted the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) regarding this matter.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced on Saturday a request to Washington for relief from sanctionsarguing that “resolution of management issues” has begun.
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How long will sanctions on NIS be suspended?
Who owns the majority of shares in the NIS group?
What arguments did the President of Serbia present regarding sanctions?
How much tax does NIS pay to the state budget annually?
The United States included NIS on the list of companies subject to sanctions in order, as it was announced, to prevent the financing of the war in Ukraine with money from Russian energy companies. The restrictions entered into force, after being postponed several times, in early October.
The company is mostly in Russian hands
Since 2008, the majority shareholders in NIS are Gazprom and Gazprom Neft, the oil subsidiary of Gazprom, which owns approximately 96 percent. his shares. At that time, Gazprom Neft owned 50 percent. shares in NIS, the Republic of Serbia 29.87 percent, and Gazprom 6.15 percent. The remaining shares belonged to citizens, current and former employees and other minority shareholders.
Although the ownership structure of NIS has been changed several times recently, koncern is still mostly in the hands of Russian companies. Gazprom withdrew from NIS in September, and its shares were taken over by another company managed by it: Intelligence from St. Petersburg, according to data from the Belgrade Stock Exchange.
NIS is the only company in Serbia engaged in the exploration, production and processing of crude oil and natural gas. It is also one of the most profitable companies in the country, generating revenues of EUR 3.3 billion, which is 4.5 percent. Serbia's GDP and net profit of EUR 375 million – according to data from 2023. The company annually pays approximately EUR 2 billion in taxes and fees to the state budget.
NIS currently controls 80 percent. domestic fuel market and 50 percent retail sales through a network of 334 gas stations operating under the NIS and Gazprom banners.
