Serbia says it has enough fuel reserves as key refinery faces sanctions shutdown

BELGRADE (Reuters) -Serbia has sufficient fuel reserves to supply the domestic market, the government said on Monday, as the crucial NIS oil refinery faces possible shutdown over U.S. sanctions on its Russian owners.

NIS, which covers most of Serbia's needs, last week requested a licence from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control to continue operating as its majority Russian owners seek a buyer for their stake.

The Serbian government said in a statement that it had discussed how to maintain a stable supply of petroleum products to the market.

'NO REASON FOR CONCERN'

"The economy and citizens have no reason for concern, as there are sufficient quantities of all petroleum derivatives," the government statement said.

In a statement on her Instagram page, Energy Minister Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic said she had met representatives of major oil companies operating in Serbia, including MOL, OMV and Helleniq Energy, to discuss fuel supplies.

"The state is ready to use mandatory reserves if the situation requires it," she wrote.

Gazprom Neft controls 44.9% of NIS and Gazprom 11.3%. Serbia owns 29.9%, with the rest held by small shareholders. Washington is seeking complete Russian divestment from NIS and has given the company's owners three months to find a buyer.

OFAC placed sanctions on Russia's oil sector in January, but their implementation in relation to NIS was postponed repeatedly before finally taking effect on October 8.

Banks have stopped processing NIS payments and Croatia's JANAF pipeline has stopped delivering crude oil to the refinery.

Last month, Djedovic Handanovic said that the NIS refinery, located just outside Belgrade, would not be able to operate beyond November 25 without new crude supplies.

NIS operational reserves and all other reserves stored with NIS totalled 89,825 metric tons of diesel and 53,648 tons of gasoline, Djedovic Handanovic said on Sunday.

Last week, she said the government had approved the import of 38,000 metric tons of petrol and 66,000 tons of diesel for state reserves.

(Reporting by Aleksandar Vasovic; Editing by Conor Humphries and Alex Richardson)