Serbia’s NIS oil company, predominantly owned by Russia’s Gazprom Neft and Gazprom, is seeking a seventh waiver from U.S. sanctions to protect its crude supply and avoid disruptions at its Pancevo refinery. The refinery, Serbia’s only major oil processing facility, depends on imports largely delivered via Croatia’s JANAF pipeline.

The current waiver is set to expire on September 26, and NIS is also pushing for removal from the U.S. Treasury’s Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list. Being on the list restricts access to many global financial and logistics networks, making compliance and procurement more complex.

Sanctions stem from U.S. policy actions targeting Russia’s broader oil sector amid the Ukraine conflict. Under the terms of earlier sanctions, Gazprom was forced to divest certain holdings — something NIS has yet to complete. A failure to secure the waiver or delisting could interrupt Pancevo’s crude imports, forcing sudden feedstock shortages and potentially higher costs or ramped-up imports from less stable sources. Refinery operations could come under strain as regulatory and supply chain risk intensifies.