Serbia's US-sanctioned oil firm NIS gets three months to find buyer, energy minister says

BELGRADE (Reuters) -Serbia secured a three-month licence from the U.S. to try to find a buyer for its Russian-owned oil company, NIS, which is under sanctions that threaten fuel supplies ahead of winter, energy minister Dubravka Djedovic-Handanovic said on Saturday.

Serbia said this week that Russia's Gazprom Neft and Gazprom - which together hold a controlling stake of 56% in the country's only oil refiner - had sent a request to the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), stating readiness to cede control of the company to a third party.

OFAC initially placed sanctions on Russia's oil sector, including Gazprom, in January, but for NIS they were postponed several times and finally came into effect on October 8.

The U.S. Treasury Department has approved a three-month licence for NIS to give the company's owners time to look for a buyer, Djedovic-Handanovic said on live TV. The company and its oil refinery will not be allowed to operate in the meantime.

"An approval for ownership negotiations has been received ... until February 13," she said.

Banks have stopped processing NIS payments, and Croatia's JANAF pipeline stopped delivering crude oil, with officials estimating that the refinery can only operate until November 25 without new crude supplies.

The U.S. also wants to see the Russian owners entirely leave the company. Belgrade may also seek to take over NIS, she said.

"As the energy minister, I believe we have tough decisions to make, whether to take over the company and compensate (Russian owners) for damages. I know the President (Aleksandar) Vucic is against it," she said, adding the government would discuss a potential solution at a session on Sunday. 

Russia's Gazprom Neft owns 44.9% and Gazprom has a 11.3% stake in NIS. The Serbian government owns 29.9% of the shares, while the remainder belongs to small shareholders and employees.

(Reporting by Aleskandar Vasovic; Writing by Angeliki Koutantou; Editing by Louise Heavens)