US sanctions imposed on Serbia’s oil company NIS, due to its Russian ownership, have blocked a crude oil shipment that was expected to provide temporary relief for the country’s only refinery in Pančevo. Without new supplies, the facility may be forced to halt operations within days.
President Aleksandar Vučić previously warned that the refinery—which produces the majority of Serbia’s petroleum products, including gasoline and jet fuel—could face shutdown after 1 November if fresh crude deliveries failed to arrive.
However, Vučić later assured the public that Serbia’s fuel storage facilities are currently full and that existing reserves should meet national demand until the end of the year. He emphasized that there will be no shortages of crude oil, refined products, or disruptions in the country’s energy supply system.
According to data from energy analytics firm Kpler, the tanker Maran Helios, carrying one million barrels of Kazakh crude oil intended for NIS, arrived at Croatia’s port of Omišalj on 9 October. Despite its arrival, the cargo has not been transferred to Serbia. Croatian pipeline operator JANAF confirmed that it has no further deliveries scheduled for Serbia, suggesting that the KEBCO crude purchased by NIS was not transported through its pipeline network.
It remains uncertain whether the shipment will be stored in Omišalj or sold to another buyer after nearly two weeks of waiting offshore before being unloaded. Industry sources estimate that the cargo would have kept the Pančevo refinery operating for roughly ten days.
