Reuters: Serbia's Only Refinery On The Verge Of Shutdown

• 24.10.2025, 16:20

Because of U.S. sanctions.

U.S. sanctions against NIS have prevented a Serbian oil group from getting a crude tanker that could buy time for Serbia's only refinery, which risks shutting down without new supplies.

Sources familiar with the situation told Reuters, "European Pravda".

The unnamed interlocutors told the agency that Serbia has only a few days left before the NIS refinery in Pancevo will be forced to stop processing crude.

The tanker Maran Helios, which was carrying 1 million barrels of Kazakhstan's KEBCO crude for NIS in Serbia, arrived at the Croatian port of Omisalj on Oct. 9.

The fuel never made it to Serbia, a source familiar with the situation said.

Croatian pipeline operator Janaf said this week that it had delivered all the oil that belonged to NIS and was in its system on Oct. 8.

Janaf said it had no scheduled deliveries to Serbia after that date, indicating: it did not receive the Kazakh KEBCO crude purchased by NIS.

The crude that NIS should have received would have kept the Pančevo refinery running for about 10 days.

Russia and Serbia are still trying to find a way to lift U.S. sanctions imposed in January against NIS over its predominantly Russian ownership.

The sanctions went into effect on Oct. 9 after a final delay expired.

Serbian President Alexandar Vucic warned on Oct. 9 that without new supplies, the refinery, which provides most of the country's oil products, would only be able to operate until Nov. 1.

Vucic noted, however, that fuel storage facilities are full and that the existing stocks of oil products will allow Serbia to sustain itself until the end of the year.

- There will be no shortage of crude oil, its derivatives and no energy crisis," he said last week.