Serbia's sanctioned oil refinery failed to secure US license, will shut down: President Vucic

SARAJEVO, Bosnia Herzegovina

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Tuesday that the country’s main oil refinery, operated by Russia’s Gazprom Neft via the Petroleum Industry of Serbia (NIS), failed to secure the US license required to continue operating under sanctions and will now shut down.

Speaking after a meeting in Belgrade with officials overseeing Serbia’s energy stability and security, Vucic addressed the looming shutdown of the refinery, which has faced months of extensions since being listed under sanctions on Jan. 10 alongside Gazprom Neft, one of Russia’s major oil producers and exporters.

Vucic said Serbia had formally requested a license from the US to allow for operations to continue, but the request was not approved.

“I am disappointed. We have decided that the refinery will end its operations, but we also agreed that salaries and similar payments will be settled by the weekend. The refinery will determine the timing of the shutdown,” he said.

Vucic added that existing reserves would cover refinery needs until the end of the year and noted that Serbia hopes to finalize a new gas agreement with Russia by the weekend.

If not, he said, negotiations for alternative arrangements would begin on Monday.

NIS placed on US sanctions list

The US Treasury Department announced on Jan. 10 that it had taken broad steps to help reduce Russia’s energy revenues in line with G7 commitments, adding Gazprom Neft, Surgutneftegas and their subsidiaries to its sanctions list. Among them was NIS.

Belgrade had previously requested delays, saying it needed more time to implement the changes required by the US. Serbia received nearly a year of postponements before the current deadline.