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Gazprom Neft and Gazprom hold together majority stake in

NIS

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US gives NIS owners three months to look for a buyer, says

minister

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NIS operations threatened as banks halt payments

(Recasts, adds context to clarify, quotes, details, background)

BELGRADE, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Serbia secured a

three-month licence from the U.S. to try to find a buyer for its

Russian-owned oil company, NIS, which is under sanctions that

threaten fuel supplies ahead of winter, energy minister Dubravka

Djedovic-Handanovic said on Saturday.

Serbia said this week that Russia's Gazprom Neft

and Gazprom - which together hold a controlling stake

of 56% in the country's only oil refiner - had sent a

request to the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control

(OFAC), stating readiness to cede control of the company to a

third party.

OFAC initially placed sanctions on Russia's oil sector,

including Gazprom, in January, but for NIS they were

postponed several times and finally came into effect on October

8.

The U.S. Treasury Department has approved a three-month

licence for NIS to give the company's owners time to look for a

buyer, Djedovic-Handanovic said on live TV. The company and its

oil refinery will not be allowed to operate in the meantime.

"An approval for ownership negotiations has been

received ... until February 13," she said.

Banks have stopped processing NIS payments, and

Croatia's JANAF pipeline stopped delivering crude oil,

with officials estimating that the refinery can only operate

until November 25 without new crude supplies.

The U.S. also wants to see the Russian owners entirely

leave the company. Belgrade may also seek to take over NIS, she

said.

"As the energy minister, I believe we have tough

decisions to make, whether to take over the company and

compensate (Russian owners) for damages. I know the President

(Aleksandar) Vucic is against it," she said, adding the

government would discuss a potential solution at a session on

Sunday.

Russia's Gazprom Neft owns 44.9% and Gazprom has a 11.3%

stake in NIS. The Serbian government owns 29.9% of the shares,

while the remainder belongs to small shareholders and employees.