The entry into force of U.S. sanctions against Serbia’s state oil company NIS has drawn international attention, complicating fuel purchases and affecting consumers at home, according to local reports.
NIS told customers it could no longer accept American Express, Mastercard or Visa cards at about 350 fuel stations, Reuters reported, adding that its reporters saw cashiers turning away a customer at a Belgrade gas station on Wednesday.
Energy experts said airlines that buy jet fuel from NIS — including flag carrier Air Serbia — could face higher prices.
Bojana Radojević, NIS’s retail director, said gas stations would continue operating and that the company had secured sufficient oil supplies to maintain production at its Pančevo refinery near Belgrade, which has an annual capacity of 4.8 million metric tonnes.
“There are no limits on the amount of fuel customers can buy, so there is no need for stockpiling,” she told Reuters.
The Associated Press said Serbia remains almost entirely dependent on Russian gas and oil, supplied mainly via pipelines through Croatia and neighbouring states. The fuels are distributed by NIS, majority-owned by Russia’s state-controlled Gazprom Neft, which also owns Serbia’s only oil refinery.
Although Serbia is formally seeking European Union membership, it has refused to join Western sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, citing reliance on Russian gas.
AP also noted that Serbia’s pro-Russian president, Aleksandar Vučić, is facing one of the biggest challenges to his more than decade-long increasingly autocratic rule, after deadly infrastructure failures last year triggered student-led protests.
The Bulgarian news outlet Novinite.com reported that the U.S. sanctions formally took effect on Oct. 9 after several months of delay. It cited economist Goran Radosavljević of Belgrade University as saying the measures could have “far-reaching consequences beyond the energy sector.”
He warned that banks would need to immediately suspend transactions and cooperation with NIS to avoid being designated as entities doing business with a sanctioned company.
“The impact could extend to agriculture, transport and even Air Serbia’s jet fuel supply, given that NIS provides over 80% of Serbia’s diesel and gasoline,” Radosavljević said.
Discussions are reportedly underway over the company’s ownership structure, including a possible withdrawal of Russian shareholders — though Radosavljević expressed doubt that would happen.
“Russia does not want to sell its stake,” he said, according to Novinite.com, noting that while NIS contributes only a small portion of Gazprom’s revenues, it carries significant political weight.
France 24, citing AFP, reported that Vučić warned on Monday that the sanctions would have a serious impact, particularly on Serbia’s banking sector.
“There is no bank in the world that would risk violating U.S. sanctions,” Vučić said, as quoted by the outlet.