SAT: Serbia lacks 216,000 tons of crude oil per month, 145 barges needed

To satisfy the market in Serbia, 216,000 tons of crude oil are needed per month, according to the data from SAT’s production company that was announced in the show of the same name on RTS. They calculated this by analyzing data on oil processing at the Pancevo Refinery in 2024.

According to this data, 3.4 million tons of crude oil were processed in Pancevo this year. Of that, 800,000 tons were domestic oil, and 2.6 million tons were imported, via the Adriatic Oil Pipeline (JANAF). Now that oil cannot come through JANAF due to the introduction of US sanctions on the Serbian Oil Industry (NIS), SAT points out that other modes of transport do not provide a solution either.

– If we count barges, the capacity of one is on average 1,500 tons, which means that at least 145 such vessels are needed to meet market demands. Travel time and reloading restrictions should be taken into account, which in the best case is 10 days. Barges are cheaper and more convenient than rail or road transport – states the SAT program.

They pointed out that importing finished derivatives from neighboring countries was not a long-term sustainable solution, because the processing of crude oil was significantly cheaper, and that, in addition, it brought a whole range of products, such as liquefied petroleum gas, fuel oil, bitumen and the like.

SAT added that “fuel shortages can only be alleviated slightly.”

– Even with the mobilization of all means of transport and sufficient loading capacities, the fuel shortage can only be alleviated slightly. This opens the way for various machinations, such as fuel dilution – the analysis emphasizes.

As a reminder, the Serbian Government plans to activate mandatory oil reserves. In addition, the government has passed a regulation that, in the event of an interruption in oil transport via JANAF, plans a series of measures, including “odd-even” driving and working from home.

NIS a.d. Petrol Rafinerija nafte Pančevo

JANAF d.d. Zagreb

NIS a.d. Novi Sad

Pančevo Oil Refinery

Jadranski naftovod

Adriatic Oil Pipeline

JANAF

Naftna industrija Srbije

Serbian Oil Industry

NIS

crude oil

oil shortage

sanctions on NIS