US sanctions hit Serbian oil agency NIS’ operations regardless of waivers

By Robert Harvey and Aleksandar Vasovic

LONDON/BELGRADE (Reuters) – Serbian oil agency NIS is struggling to purchase oil from merchants overseas, whereas at residence its former shoppers are in search of different gasoline suppliers as pending U.S. sanctions have impacted operations, sources acquainted with the matter informed Reuters.

NIS is majority-owned by Russia’s Gazprom Neft and Gazprom and as such is one in every of Russia’s final remaining oil property in Europe. It’s essential to Serbia’s power safety because it operates the Balkan nation’s solely oil refinery.

It’s laborious for different corporations to work round NIS as a result of its dominant place within the Serbian market is compounded by logistical constraints within the landlocked nation.

NIS provides round 80% of Serbia’s gasoline and diesel, and 90% or extra of jet gasoline and heavy gasoline oil, in accordance with one dealer.

However the firm’s current struggles spotlight what might come if U.S. sanctions take impact, with President Aleksandar Vucic warning that Serbia might lose entry to grease imports.

The U.S. Treasury’s Workplace of International Belongings Management designated NIS AD Novi Unhappy a sanctioned entity on January 10, giving Gazprom Neft 45 days to exit its funding, earlier than extending that deadline with back-to-back 30-day waivers.

NIS, which often buys crude in long-term contracts, cancelled its 2025 tender, in accordance with its procurement website.

It’s as an alternative making shorter-term purchases within the spot market from worldwide buying and selling homes nonetheless prepared to do enterprise with it, two of the sources informed Reuters. NIS’ crude procurement adjustments haven’t beforehand been reported.

NIS mentioned it just lately efficiently closed a deal to purchase oil in accordance with the waiver, and was sourcing crude from a number of suppliers. It didn’t give particulars.

“The corporate is adapting its enterprise actions to the newly-arisen circumstances,” it informed Reuters.

NIS’ crude imports through Croatia’s Omisalj port – the place 80% of the corporate’s crude provide arrives through the Janaf pipeline – are averaging round 28,000 barrels per day this yr, in accordance with world real-time information and analytics supplier Kpler.

That compares with 40,000 bpd in 2024 and 70,000 bpd in 2023.

In the meantime, gasoline suppliers OMV, from Austria, and Greek-owned Eko are actually importing key transport fuels for his or her Serbian retail networks as an alternative of shopping for from NIS, the businesses informed Reuters. The transfer has not been beforehand reported.

OMV is importing fuels on Danube river barges from its different European refineries, it mentioned, whereas Eko is supplying merchandise from Greece, an organization official mentioned, asking to not be named.