Naftna Industrija Srbije has signed an agreement to sell its entire holding in NIS Petrol Romania, continuing the restructuring of a regional business constrained by US sanctions and Russian ownership.
The Serbian oil company’s board approved the transaction during the second quarter of 2026. NIS has not disclosed the buyer or the financial terms. Completion remains conditional on regulatory approvals and the necessary licences from the US Office of Foreign Assets Control.
NIS is also seeking to dispose of NIS Petrol Bulgaria. The Bulgarian operation runs 23 Gazprom-branded filling stations, while the Romanian subsidiary operates 19 stations and holds interests in oil and gas exploration and production.
The company began considering withdrawal from both markets in February 2025 after operational problems and sanctions complicated financing, procurement, payments and corporate transactions. Bulgaria’s competition authority later disclosed that Uni Energy had applied to acquire NIS Petrol Bulgaria.
NIS has operated under US sanctions since January 2025 because of its Russian ownership structure. The company has relied on temporary authorisations allowing essential operations to continue and has applied for another special licence beyond 31 July 2026.
The sanctions problem reaches far beyond ownership on paper. NIS requires uninterrupted access to crude supply, banking services, insurance, shipping, technology providers and cross-border payments. Any interruption could affect the Pančevo refinery and Serbia’s domestic fuel market, where NIS remains the dominant operator.
Hungarian oil group MOL has been negotiating a potential acquisition of the Russian-held interest in NIS. Such a transaction could offer a route to sanctions relief, but it would require agreement on valuation, governance and future strategic control, as well as approval from several governments and regulators.
NIS operates 384 filling stations, of which 327 are in Serbia, with additional activities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania and Bulgaria. The Romanian and Bulgarian disposals would reduce its geographic reach but simplify the business and concentrate capital on the Serbian market.
The Romanian sale is therefore less a conventional portfolio adjustment than part of a broader effort to keep the core company operational. Its completion will depend heavily on OFAC approval and on whether the transaction is considered sufficient progress towards reducing sanctioned Russian control.
