Gazprom Neft cuts stake in Serbia’s NIS as US sanctions loom

By Aleksandar Vasovic

BELGRADE (Reuters) - Russia's Gazprom Neft transferred stakes of around 5.15% in Serbia's NIS oil company to Gazprom, in an attempt to ward off U.S. sanctions that could result in crude supply cuts for the Balkan country.

The U.S. placed sanctions on Russia's oil sector on January 10, and gave Gazprom Neft 45 days to exit ownership of NIS. The deadline expires at 0600 local time (0500 GMT) on Thursday.

According to notices made public by Belgrade stock exchange BELEX, Gazprom Neft reduced its stake in NIS to 44.85% from 50%. At the same time, Gazprom increased its stake in the Serbian oil company to 11.3% from 6.15%.

The changes mean Gazprom Neft no longer has an absolute majority in NIS, which operates Serbia's sole crude oil refinery in Pancevo, just outside the capital Belgrade.

They follow a similar cosmetic change in 2022 when the company was trying to avoid EU sanctions. It unclear whether they will satisfy U.S. authorities.

"We are continuing talks with both the United States and Russia to reach a solution," Serbia's Energy Minister Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic said in a live TV broadcast on Wednesday.

The Serbian government holds a further 29.87% stake in NIS, with small shareholders accounting for the remainder.

Serbia, an historical ally of Russia, has submitted a formal request to the U.S. Treasury Department for a waiver of sanctions for 90 days to allow it to consider a "sustainable solution that would lead to the lifting of sanctions".

Following efforts to store fuel and find alternative supplies, Handanovic said the government has enough to supply the market for at least three months.

But in the absence of a waiver, Serbia could face a shortfall as NIS, which supplies about 80% of the domestic retail market with crude oil and gas derivatives, would be unable to import crude oil through Croatia's pipeline operator Janaf.

The Belgrade stock exchange suspended trading of NIS shares on January 14, citing the introduction of the U.S. sanctions.

(Reporting by Aleksandar Vasovic; Writing by Angeliki Koutantou; Editing by Louise Heavens, Edward McAllister and Barbara Lewis)