MOL, Hungary’s largest oil and gas producer, said on Saturday evening that it had been given more time by the US government to finalise negotiations to acquire a majority stake in Serbia’s NIS oil company, Reuters reports.

The deal involves the purchase of a 56.16% stake in NIS, shares held by Russia’s Gazprom Neft.

NIS is targeted by sanctions imposed by US authorities in October 2025 because of its Russian owners, as part of broader measures targeting the Russian energy sector. Washington has been pushing for the sale of the Russian stake in NIS, and in the meantime the Serbian company has obtained a series of waivers from the US government.

In a statement to the Budapest Stock Exchange, MOL said it had received permission from the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to continue negotiations until June 16. MOL had set a June 6 deadline to complete the talks, but on Wednesday it requested a new extension to complete the talks.

In January, Russian companies Gazprom Neft and Gazprom agreed to sell their 56% stake in NIS to MOL after OFAC demanded the sale of the Russian assets following sanctions imposed on Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine. The original deadline for completing the negotiations was May 22. The sale must be approved by the Serbian state, which owns 29.9% of NIS. In addition to the approval of the Serbian government, the transaction also requires OFAC approval.

NIS owns the only refinery in Serbia, located in Pancevo, near the capital Belgrade, as well as a chain of over 400 gas stations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria and Romania.