Because of US sanctions imposed on NIS, the transport of a shipment of crude oil to Serbia has been prevented, Reuters reported, citing sources familiar with the situation.
Sources who spoke on condition of anonymity told Reuters that Serbia has only a few days before the oil refinery in Pančevo runs out of crude oil for processing and is forced to halt production.
The tanker Maran Helios, carrying one million barrels of Kazakh crude oil intended for NIS in Serbia, arrived in Omišalj, Croatia, on 9 October, according to data from the analytics group Kpler.
However, the fuel never reached Serbia, said a source familiar with the matter, Reuters reported.
The Croatian oil pipeline operator Janaf stated that there were “no additional deliveries” for Serbia afterwards, suggesting that it did not take over the Kazakh crude purchased by NIS.
Reuters was unable to determine whether the shipment would be stored in Omišalj or resold to another buyer after it was finally unloaded on Tuesday, following about two weeks of waiting near the port.
The crude oil that NIS was supposed to receive would have been sufficient to keep the Pančevo refinery operating for around ten days, according to Reuters’ calculations.
US sanctions on NIS, introduced due to Russian ownership of the company, came into effect on 9 October, after several postponements.
Following this, NIS announced that it currently holds sufficient crude oil reserves for processing and that petrol stations remain fully supplied with all types of petroleum products.
Earlier today, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić stated that he expects to have answers regarding the situation with the Petroleum Industry of Serbia (NIS), which has been sanctioned by the US administration due to Russian ownership, by the end of this week or early next week.
(Nova Ekonomija, 27.10.2025)