site.btaPresident Vucic: U.S. Sanctions on Serbia's NIS Oil Company Will Affect All Citizens

U.S. sanctions against Serbia’s main oil company NIS (Naftna industrija Srbije), whose largest shareholder is Russia’s Gazprom Neft, will affect all citizens, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic warned on Thursday in an emergency statement broadcast online.

"This is bad news for Serbia on many levels – these are extremely serious sanctions in every sense. It’s important for citizens to understand that the sanctions are not aimed directly at them, but they will impact every single person," Vucic said.

The U.S. sanctions on NIS officially took effect Thursday, though they were originally imposed back on January 10 due to the “secondary risk” stemming from the company’s majority Russian ownership. Their implementation had been delayed eight times, most recently until October 8. The goal of the U.S. is to curb funding for Russia’s war in Ukraine by targeting Russian energy companies.

NIS operates the only oil refinery in Serbia and holds a monopoly on oil and gas exploration, production, and refining in the country.

Following the sanctions announcement, NIS underwent several ownership restructuring efforts, but Russia retained majority control. In September, Gazprom formally withdrew from ownership, and a new shareholder—Intelligence JSC, a St. Petersburg-based company managed by Gazprom—acquired an 11.3% stake. However, Gazprom Neft still holds the largest share at 44.9%, the Serbian government owns 29.9%, and the rest is held by small shareholders.

Vucic recalled that NIS was sold in 2008 because "some people in the country needed cash at the time."

“In the meantime, we gained a reliable Russian partner who contributes to the budget—recently at a level of around 9%,” the Serbian President said, warning that his country now faces "countless problems."

He said Serbian board members of NIS have called for an emergency company meeting to address the unfolding crisis.

Vucic also revealed that JANAF, the Croatian operator of the Adriatic Oil Pipeline, has halted crude oil deliveries to Serbia, raising urgent questions about alternative supply routes and partners.

He added that Serbia has stockpiled enough black oil to last 120 days, as a result of what he called “responsible planning,” and that Electricity Supply Serbia (EPS) holds 57 million tonnes of black oil.

The refinery in Pančevo is expected to operate without fresh crude oil deliveries until November 1, Vučić said, warning of possible difficulties in the availability of derivatives.

“But we have enough in reserve—342 tonnes of diesel and over 66 tonnes of gasoline,” he added.

Vucic concluded by saying he would continue talks with U.S. officials about the sanctions and had also met with the Russian ambassador to Serbia earlier in the day.