UPDATE 3-MOL gets US licence extension to negotiate purchase of sanctioned NIS oil firm

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Extension lets MOL negotiate for Gazprom, Gazprom Neft stakes in NIS

NIS received a US sanctions reprieve through July 1

MOL signed a shareholders' agreement on Serbia's NIS stake

Croatia's pipeline operator also gets reprieve to supply oil to NIS

Updates with MOL statement

BELGRADE, June 17 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has extended a licence to Hungary's energy company MOL MOLB.BU to negotiate the purchase of a majority stake in Serbia's Russian-owned NIS until July 1, MOL said in a statement on Wednesday.

The company offered no further details.

OFAC imposed sanctions on NIS NIIS.BEL in October as the U.S. targeted Russia's energy sector over the war in Ukraine, and demanded that Russian firms divest the NIS shares they own.

MOL signed an agreement in January to buy the combined 51.56% stake held by Gazprom Neft SIBN.MM and Gazprom GAZP.MM, pending OFAC approval.

U.S. sanctions forced NIS, which owns the only refinery in Serbia, to seek waivers from OFAC to buy and process crude oil, which would not be required once a share sale is completed. Late on Tuesday, OFAC granted NIS a sanctions reprieve until July 1.

Croatian oil pipeline operator Janaf JANF.ZA has received a similar licence from OFAC to continue supplying oil to NIS until July 1, Janaf said in a statement on Wednesday.

Also on Tuesday, MOL signed a shareholders' agreement with Serbia over its 29.9% stake in NIS, separate from acquisition talks between MOL and Russian companies.


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