The geopolitics giveth, the geopolitics taketh away.

On January 10, 2025. the U.S. Department of the Treasury imposed further sanctions against the Russian energy sector. The list of sanctioned companies now includes NIS AD Novi Sad, a Serbia-based Gazprom Neft subsidiary. It is the largest Serbian oil company, its largest shareholder is Russian state-owned Gazprom Neft with 50 percent of shares, and its parent company Gazprom owns 5 percent of shares. The government of Serbia has a share of 29.87%.

It is also one of the most profitable companies in Serbia, with a net income of €357.71 million in 2023.

Serbian aviation news portal Tango Six reported on January 21 that the low-cost airliner Wizz Air decided to adjust its business policy with US sanctions and that it will no longer buy fuel from NIS AD. Its aircraft will now refuel in Budapest or Timișoara.

Apple App Store removed two of the NIS phone apps, and the Belgrade stock exchange temporarily stopped the trading of NIS shares after their value started to drop when NIS was placed on the Office of Foreign Assets Control Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons list – SDN List.

It has been apparent for some time now that the Serbian oil company will be targeted by the U.S. sanctions, and that the most likely endgame of it will be that Russian companies will be forced out of it.

As usual, the public is up in arms criticizing US imperialism and insisting that Gazprom Neft’s professional management of the company is the reason why NIS is a highly profitable company, allegedly free of political influence and incompetent employees hired only because of their political affiliations and/or family ties, which is a common practice in Serbian state and local enterprises.

In 2008, the Russian company Gazprom Neft became the majority shareholder, according to the “Sales and Purchase Agreement” between the Republic of Serbia and the Russian Federation on the purchase of 51% of shares for €400 million and €550 million in investments until 2012.

The deal was met with some criticism concerning the allegedly low price and the opaque nature of the sales deal that was made between the Serbian and Russian governments. The explanation offered by both the ruling parties and the opposition, both pro-Russian, was that it was a move based on transactional diplomacy – Serbia gave a highly profitable, monopolist company in return for Russia’s support in returning the breakaway province of Kosovo.

And how’s that working?

Some of the last vestiges of the Serbian parallel administration in Kosovo are closed down this winter with the implementation of the Brussels and Washington Agreements, and Russia is unable to help in any meaningful way with its combined arms circus stuck around towns of Eastern Ukraine.

Now they are losing a golden goose in one of the few countries in this part of the world that has a majority of its population aligned with the values of the “Russian world”.

In the words of the contemporary American political scientist Justin Timberlake, cry me a river.