Serbian oil company NIS has secured crude oil imports through the JANAF system to supply its Pancevo refinery, paving the way for a restart of production after weeks of downtime. The company announced that the first deliveries are expected to arrive during the coming week.
According to NIS, initial shipments will be followed by additional crude oil imports, allowing the company to gradually stabilize supply. In parallel, preparations are underway to begin restart procedures at the Pancevo refinery, in line with standard operational protocols.
Operations at the Pancevo refinery were halted in early December due to a lack of crude oil feedstock, triggered by US Treasury sanctions that constrained NIS’s ability to procure oil and conduct certain transactions. The situation eased at the end of the year when the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a special license on 31 December 2025. The authorization temporarily restored NIS’s ability to carry out key operational activities until 23 January, including crude oil imports, refinery processing, and essential maintenance.
With crude oil deliveries now arranged via JANAF, NIS expects to resume refinery operations and ensure continuity of fuel production for the domestic market during the license period.