Mandatory reserves to avoid crisis - Serbian government decision, after the closure of the NIS oil refinery
Serbia is finalizing an action plan outlining steps to introduce mandatory reserves of oil derivatives on the market after its sole refiner, the Russian-controlled and US-sanctioned NIS, began shutting down refineries due to a lack of crude oil for processing, the government in Belgrade said.
The mandatory reserve mechanism is designed to overcome temporary supply disruptions by covering fuel volumes missing from reserves, the government said in a media release. No crude oil has arrived in Serbia for about two months, but citizens and the economy have not felt it.
On Tuesday, President Aleksandar Vučić said that Serbia that day had 53,900 tons of oil in cargo reserves and 150,590 tons in mandatory reserves, which is enough to supply the market until the end of January. Serbia also had 14,533 tons of gasoline in mandatory reserves and 4,000 tons in cargo reserves, Vučić said, noting that oil accounts for 82% of total fuel consumption.
Vučić also stressed that the 327 NIS gas stations in Serbia account for 48% of the total turnover of petroleum products in the country.
On Wednesday, NIS's largest single shareholder, Gazprom Neft, said in a statement that the Serbian company had made the necessary adjustments to its operations, that the Serbian market is currently supplied with oil derivatives in the necessary quantities, and that NIS continues its production, which allows it to create certain reserves of raw materials.
NIS is owned by Gazprom Neft with 44.85%. The Serbian government has 29.87% ownership, and St. Petersburg-based Intelligence, a company indirectly controlled by Gazprom, has 11.3%. The rest belongs to a number of minority shareholders.
The US Treasury first announced sanctions on the Serbian refinery in January due to its Russian ownership and is seeking a full exit of the Russian shareholders.
In addition to Serbia, NIS is also active in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria and Romania and employs around 14,000 people.
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