Serbia has established a coordination body to ensure a stable supply of oil and natural gas amid potential US sanctions on Serbia-based oil and gas company NIS AD and the need to negotiate new natural gas agreements with the Russian Federation.

The majority ownership of NIS AD by Russian gas companies Gazprom Neft and Gazprom has increased the risk of sanctions on the company over time.

The coordination body will be chaired by Prime Minister Miloš Vučević, reflecting the high priority placed on energy security by the Serbian Government.

The coordination body's mandate is to oversee the supply security of oil and gas by coordinating the activities of relevant state administration bodies and other entities. This includes preparing, negotiating and concluding potential arrangements to maintain secure energy supplies.

The body will guide two working groups; one will monitor the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) activities concerning potential sanctions on NIS AD, while the other will negotiate natural gas supply and delivery agreements with Russia.

The working group tasked with natural gas negotiations will be led by First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Siniša Mali.

Meanwhile, the working group focusing on potential US sanctions will be under the direction of Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Đedović Handanović.