Suspension of operations at NIS oil refinery begins

PANCEVO - Serbia's oil firm NIS, which is under US sanctions due to its Russian-majority ownership, announced on Tuesday its refinery in Pancevo had begun "suspending the operation of its production units due to the lack of crude oil for processing purposes as a result of the sanctions."

"The operation of the process units is being suspended according to the principle applied in case of scheduled overhauls, observing the laws of the Republic of Serbia, internal regulations of the Company, and the most demanding environmental standards and occupational health and safety rules.

The activities in the Pancevo Oil Refinery during the operation suspension process are organised so as to have the refinery’s units ready to restart once the relevant conditions are met, i.e. as soon as the information on crude oil availability is received. During suspension of the Refinery’s operations, the employees will be engaged to perform the tasks they carry out during scheduled shutdowns.

Furthermore, NIS is continuing to supply the domestic market with petroleum products without interruption, owing to the stocks secured earlier," it said in a statement.

"NIS sincerely hopes that regular operations will be reestablished in the shortest time possible in the Pancevo Oil Refinery. The Company remains staunchly committed to the efforts to be removed as soon as possible from the US Ministry of Finance’s SDN list or to obtain a new special licence which will ensure its unhindered operation, in which course of action it is strongly supported by the Republic of Serbia’s authorities," it also said.