The United States will impose sanctions on the Russian-owned Serbian oil company NIS, which runs Serbia's only oil refinery, starting October 1, President Aleksandar Vucic said on Thursday.
NIS, in which Gazpromneft holds a 44.9% stake, a Gazprom unit holds 11.3%, and the Serbian government holds 29.9%, operates Serbia's only oil refinery in the town of Pančevo, located near Belgrade.
The plant has a capacity of 4.8 million tons per year and supplies most of the Balkan country's needs, and the sanctions could threaten crude supplies via the Croatian Janaf pipeline.
"Since banks are banned from working with NIS, there will be difficulties in paying salaries. "But let's wait until October 1, maybe a miracle will happen," Vucic said.
