BELGRADE, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Serbia has sufficient fuel

reserves to supply the domestic market, the government said on

Monday, as the country's crucial NIS oil refinery

faces possible shutdown over U.S. sanctions on its Russian

owners.

NIS, which covers most of the country's needs, last week

requested a licence from the U.S. Treasury Department's Office

of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to continue operating as its

majority Russian owners seek a buyer for their stake.

The Serbian government said in a statement that it had

discussed the energy situation in the country and how to

maintain a stable supply of petroleum products to the market.

'NO REASON FOR CONCERN'

"The economy and citizens have no reason for concern, as

there are sufficient quantities of all petroleum derivatives,"

the government statement said.

Gazprom Neft controls 44.9% of NIS and Gazprom

11.3%. Serbia owns 29.9%, with the rest held by small

shareholders. Washington is seeking complete Russian divestment

from NIS and has given the company's owners three months to find

a buyer.

OFAC placed sanctions on Russia's oil sector in January, but

their implementation in relation to NIS was postponed repeatedly

before finally taking effect on October 8.

Banks have stopped processing NIS payments and Croatia's

JANAF pipeline has stopped delivering crude oil to the

refinery.

On Oct 29, Serbia's energy minister Dubravka Djedovic

Handanovic said that the NIS refinery, located just outside

capital Belgrade, will not be able to operate beyond November 25

without new crude supplies.

NIS operational reserves and all other reserves stored with

NIS totalled 89,825 tons of diesel and 53,648 tons of gasoline,

Djedovic Handanovic said on Sunday.

Last week, she said the government had approved the import

of 38,000 metric tons of petrol and 66,000 tons of diesel for

state reserves.