Serbia has set a 50-day deadline for Russia to find a new owner for its majority stake in the Serbian Oil Industry (NIS), President Aleksandar Vucic said on November 25, warning the country could take control of the company if no buyer is found.

Serbia’s sole oil refinery stopped operating normally on November 25 and could be forced to halt operations within days unless Washington grants a licence allowing the majority Russian-owned NIS to continue processing crude.

The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) must issue a new licence for NIS to maintain operations at its Pancevo refinery, as crude supplies are running out. The company faces an uncertain future after US sanctions took effect on October 9 because of its majority Russian ownership.

Speaking at a press conference, Vucic said the Serbian government had unanimously backed his proposal on November 24, which stops short of nationalisation. If no sale is concluded within the 50-day period, Serbia would install its own management at NIS and offer to buy out Russian shareholders at the highest possible price.

“Even if the refinery must stand idle, we will manage and ensure the market is supplied. But after 50 days, if no agreement has been reached, we will have no choice,” Vucic said, adding that Serbia is not seeking nationalisation but would first place the company under Serbian administration.

Russia, which owns a 56.15% stake in NIS through Gazprom Neft and St. Petersburg-based firm Intelligence, is in talks with three potential buyers. Serbian media have speculated that Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Hungary’s MOL may be among them.

Vucic stressed that Serbia is not the owner of NIS and cannot force a sale, noting that the government needed to give Russia time to negotiate with “friends from the Emirates, Hungary and other countries.”

NIS filed a fresh licence request with OFAC on November 18 seeking permission to maintain normal operations at the Pancevo refinery while negotiations continue.