The transport of a crude oil shipment to Serbia has been blocked due to U.S. sanctions imposed on Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS), Reuters reported, citing sources familiar with the situation.
According to those sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, Serbia has only a few days before the Pančevo oil refinery runs out of crude oil and is forced to halt production.
The tanker “Maran Helios,” carrying one million barrels of Kazakh crude oil intended for NIS, arrived at the Croatian port of Omišalj on October 9, according to data from the analytics group Kpler. However, the fuel never reached Serbia, a source close to the matter told Reuters.
The Croatian pipeline operator Janaf confirmed there were “no additional deliveries” for Serbia after that date, suggesting that it did not transfer the Kazakh oil purchased by NIS. Reuters was unable to verify whether the cargo, which was finally unloaded on Tuesday after two weeks of waiting near the port, would be stored in Omišalj or resold to another buyer.
The crude oil shipment NIS was supposed to receive would have been sufficient to keep the Pančevo refinery operating for about ten days, Reuters estimates.
The U.S. sanctions on NIS, imposed due to the company’s Russian ownership structure, came into effect on October 9, after several postponements.
Following the sanctions, NIS stated that it currently has adequate crude oil reserves for refining and that all gas stations are fully supplied with petroleum products.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said earlier today that he expects to receive clarification from the U.S. administration by the end of this or next week regarding the sanctions imposed on NIS.
