Pancevo Refinery Lifts Output to 13,000 Tons a Day

The Pancevo oil refinery is now processing nearly 13,000 tons of crude a day, according to a figure the Ministry of Mining and Energy released at 3:37 p.m. on August 31, following a meeting between Minister Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic and representatives of the Union of Petroleum Companies of Serbia (UNKS) and Serbia’s oil company NIS (Naftna industrija Srbije).

The goal is for domestic refining to cover most of September’s demand. Oil companies expect demand for Euro diesel in September to hold at August’s level, around 200,000 tons. NIS has said its Euro diesel output will rise to about 190,000 tons, up from nearly 160,000 tons in August. Alongside diesel, the September plan includes 17,000 tons of kerosene, 18,000 tons of fuel oil and about 50,000 tons of gasoline.

Djedovic Handanovic said after the meeting that she does not expect supply problems:

I don’t expect any problems with the supply of petroleum products in September either, even though the challenges around imports caused by low water levels on the Danube continue. In September, oil companies expect demand for Euro diesel to be at a similar level as in August, close to 200,000 tons.

She added that most of that demand is expected to come from output at the Pancevo refinery, with the rest covered by imports the oil companies are planning.

How much fuel still moves by rail

September’s plan calls for importing 36,000 tons of Euro diesel, less than the 32,000 tons that actually arrived in August. Almost half of that August volume did not come by barge but by rail, since low water on the Danube ruled out full loads on the river. The ministry’s statement says the constraint continues into September, so part of the imports is still planned to move by rail.

The minister laid out September’s production schedule in detail:

NIS has announced it will further increase production in September, which should reach about 190,000 tons of Euro diesel, 17,000 tons of kerosene, 18,000 tons of fuel oil and about 50,000 tons of gasoline. We expect Euro diesel imports to reach 36,000 tons.

The higher domestic output serves another purpose too: it lets NIS rebuild the operational reserves it partly released onto the market during August, with the state’s approval, to make up for a shortfall in imports.

License valid through September 30

The Pancevo refinery operates under a license the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued to NIS, valid through September 30, 2026. The same date, September 30, also marks the deadline for the extended ban on exporting oil and oil products from Serbia. srpske.rs has already reported on the license extension to that date, the same deadline granted to Hungary’s MOL.

The current figures from Pancevo are the first concrete sign of what that license means for the market in practice: the refinery is running at full capacity instead of waiting on the outcome of talks over a further extension, and most of domestic fuel demand is being met without relying on imports. Whether Washington will push the deadline back again or offer a more lasting solution is something the ministry has not signaled yet. The next check comes at the end of September, when the deadline runs out.