Request for OFAC licence would indicate progress in NIS talks - expert

BELGRADE - A potential request to the US Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) to extend the operating licence for Serbia's Russian-majority owned oil company NIS would indicate that there is progress in talks between the Russian side and a potential buyer of its stake in the firm, says Serbian energy expert Zeljko Markovic.

NIS is under US sanctions due to its Russian majority ownership.

Markovic said the situation could be expected to remain stable as long as the market was supplied from imports and state reserves.

"However, once the state reserves run out, we can no longer expect that to be the case unless the situation is resolved by that time - unless the refinery starts operating," the RTS quoted Markovic as saying.

He said the NIS refinery would need a month to restart production if it received an operating licence.

Markovic said no information on the talks or the parties involved was publicly available.

"We have speculation that one of them is ADNOC, but there are no official statements in that regard," Markovic said.

Following discussions Serbia has held with foreign actors involved in the crisis, a new request to OFAC to extend the operating licence is due to be sent this week.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has said Serbia had expedited fuel imports and that stocks would last at least until January 15 or even January 25.