The ban on the import of derivatives by ships will not threaten the supply of Serbia

Published on 2. February 2023., News

The new EU sanctions stipulate that from February 5, the import of Russian derivatives by waterway is prohibited. – NIS says that they fully cover the needs of the domestic market

As soon as the issue of the embargo on the import of Russian oil via the Janaf pipeline to Serbia was resolved from December 5, new bans arrived from the European Union. So the latest is that on February 5, the ban on the import of Russian oil products by sea comes into force. Therefore, fuel can no longer be transported by barges.

When asked whether the new fuel import ban could in any way threaten the supply of “Oil Industry of Serbia” (NIS) and “Pančevo Oil Refinery”, the NIS told “Politika” that there is no concern.

“Preservation of stability and orderly supply of domestic consumers remain the priorities of NIS and the market is supplied with all types of fuel.” When it comes specifically to the ban on the import of oil derivatives from the Russian Federation, which comes into force on February 5, it is important to note that the production capacities of the “Pancevo Oil Refinery” fully cover all the needs of the domestic market for all types of fuel, including diesel. The intensive modernization of the production capacities of the ‘Pancevo Oil Refinery’ during the previous years enabled NIS to have a sufficient amount of stock of all kinds of derivatives at all times. Therefore, under normal market circumstances, NIS does not depend on the import of oil derivatives, so no diesel fuel import is planned this year”, the company emphasizes.

In case of extraordinary circumstances and the need for unplanned fuel import, NIS will look at the market situation and select the supplier that is the most favorable in terms of economic and technical parameters, and the previous practice was to import from countries in the region, according to NIS.

Even in the Ministry of Energy, they do not foresee any problems since the oil reserves in Serbia will be increased during 2022 by 54 percent. Together with the government, they are actively working to secure additional quantities of oil derivatives, bearing in mind the upcoming changes, the relevant ministry emphasizes.

Ljubinko Savić, in charge of energy at the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, told our newspaper that he does not expect any problems after February 5 because we used to import fuel from Russia years ago when the refinery was being overhauled, so that shouldn’t bother us. guess which way. Now that we have enough oil, we can produce all kinds of fuel ourselves. He states that foreign companies operating in Serbia, especially MOL, OMV and Lukoil, have their own refineries in the area, from which we could ask them to supply us with fuel in the event of major disruptions in the market. It’s just that some of them have an obligation as member countries of the European Union to first secure their markets, and then to market it on European markets, and only then on third markets, like ours. Our refinery, on the other hand, can fully meet the needs of the domestic market for diesel and gasoline.

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