US Sanctions For Russian Oil Companies, Supply To Serbia Stopped

UNSPLASH/Timothy Newman ILLUSTRATION

Croatia stopped shipping oil to Serbia on Thursday after Russian-owned oil company NIS was hit by US sanctions, which jeopardized fuel supplies to its only oil refinery and the largest importer of the Balkan country.

The US imposed sanctions on NIS, one of the last remaining Russian energy assets in Europe, in January as part of a broader move to isolate the assets. However, a series of sanctions reliefs delayed the measures until Thursday, October 9, when NIS stated there would be no further delays.

JANAF pipeline operators, who shipped crude oil to Serbia from Croatia, said they had stopped shipping crude oil to Serbia and planned to expand to other markets.

"As of October 8, 2025, the possibility of further implementation of contracting activities has ended," JANAF said in a statement.

This move complicates the purchase of fuel to Serbia, and on Thursday it has affected Serbians refueling at gas stations.

NIS told its loyal customers they couldn't buy gasoline from about 350 of its gas stations with American Express, Mastercard, or Visa, and Reuters reporters saw a man being turned down by a cashier on Thursday.

Meanwhile, airlines that buy jet fuel from NIS, including the national airline Air Serbia, are now facing a higher price, experts say.

"The special attendance from the US Treasury Department, which allows smooth business operations, has not been extended," said NIS.

Gazprom Neft holds 44.9% of shares in the company, and the Gazprom investment unit owns about 11.3% of the shares. The Serbian government owns 29.9% of shares. Major Russian share ownership sparked sanctions.

However, NIS retail director Bojana Radojevic said gas stations would continue to operate and NIS said it had secured enough oil to continue operating its refinery at Pankorevo, near Belgrade, which has an annual capacity of 4.8 million metric tons.

"There are no restrictions regarding the amount that can be consumed, so they don't need to hoard," said Radojevic.