In Serbia, oil production is carried out at 870 oil wells and 69 gas wells in operation, employing various extraction methods. Additionally, in 2023, 42 new wells were put into operation, including 41 production wells and one exploratory well, as stated in the Decision on determining the Energy Balance of the Republic of Serbia for the year 2024.
NIS a.d. Novi Sad is the sole company in Serbia engaged in oil and gas exploration and production. NIS owns a processing complex in Pančevo with a total refining capacity of 4.8 million tons of crude oil annually, as well as a facility for oil and gas preparation and transport in Elemir.
The production of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), a derivative of natural gas, takes place in Elemir at the Oil and Gas Preparation and Transport Plant of NIS a.d. Novi Sad, as well as in Odžaci at the facilities of Standard gas d.o.o. and Hipol a.d. These facilities use imported gas condensate, i.e., a broad fraction of light hydrocarbons, as raw material for production. The blending of components to produce propane-butane mixtures and autogas is carried out by Petrol LPG d.o.o. Belgrade at the facility in Smederevo and by VML d.o.o. Belgrade at the facility in Jakovo.
The transportation of oil derivatives in the Republic of Serbia is carried out by rail, maritime, and road traffic. The transportation from refineries to terminal facilities is mainly done by rail and maritime transport, while the distribution to end consumers is done by road. The only company engaged in the oil transportation activity through pipelines in the Republic of Serbia is Transnafta AD Pančevo.
Transnafta conducts oil transportation through a pipeline that extends from the Danube River near Sotina on the border with Croatia to the Pančevo Refinery, with a total length of 154.5 km.
The estimated quantity of imported crude oil for the year 2023, transported through the section of the oil pipeline DN-2 (Novi Sad – Pančevo) and entering the refinery, is 2.85 million tons, while the domestic crude oil is 0.7 million tons. The possible planned quantity for oil pipeline transport in 2024 is 2.8 million tons of imported crude oil and 0.7 million tons of domestic crude oil.
In the year 2024, the supply of crude oil (and semi-finished products) for processing in refineries will be provided from domestic production in the amount of 0.811 million tons (23%), which is 2% less than the estimated domestic production in 2023 (21%), amounting to 0.83 million tons. In 2024, the required additional quantity of crude oil (and semi-finished products) will be provided from imports in the amount of 2.767 million tons (77%), which is 9% less compared to the estimated import in 2023, amounting to 3.052 million tons (79%) – as stated in this decision.
Considering the overall demand for petroleum derivatives in the year 2024, as well as the planned domestic production of petroleum derivatives and available reserves, the deficient required quantities of petroleum derivatives, amounting to 1,100 million tons, as stated in the decision, will be provided through imports. This represents a 22% increase compared to the estimated import in 2023, which amounted to 0.900 million tons.
In 2024, the export of petroleum derivatives is also planned, totalling 0.440 million tons, which is 21% lower than the estimated export in 2023, amounting to 0.559 million tons. The final consumption of petroleum derivatives in the year 2024 is planned at quantities of 3,930 million tons – as stated.
