Does NIS company have fuel reserves and how will citizens pay at gas stations if the sanctions come into force?

Sanctions to NIS essentially represent sanctions to the state because in 2024, NIS delivered 81 percent of all oil derivatives in Serbia, professor Radosavljevic said in Novi Dan show.

As he noted, the fuel will probably be available in the first five or six months because reserves were made and there are crude oil reserves in the refinery, but that there will be a big problem with payment transactions.

"There are some derivatives in reserves, citizens will be able to buy with cash, some with a dinar card, but how will legal entities pay? The biggest consumers of derivatives are large companies, they all operate regionally, it will be a problem for them to buy from NIS," he stressed.

He also noted that autumn agricultural work is coming, so there will be increased demand from that side as well.

"You go to the gas station and buy with cash, they take that cash to the Post Savings Bank. But international payments have stopped, there is no purchase of crude oil, spare parts. Paying salaries will be a problem," said Radosavljevic.

According to him, the payment transactions are a bigger problem than the lack of derivatives, but if the situation lasts for five to six months, those derivatives will eventually be used up.

According to Radosavljevic, the procedure for importing petroleum products from the region is very strict and in order to engage in trade, it is necessary to meet some rules that are almost impossible to meet, which is why gas station owners would not be able to reorient themselves so quickly to other refineries in the region.

Radosavljevic said that the entry into force of the sanctions would be a major economic blow, and that some calculations show that NIS participates with almost two percent of Serbia's GDP, which is much more than any other company.

"Petrohemija, Air Serbia are directly dependent on NIS and they may stop in a short time," he has warned.