If nothing happens on February 26 at four in the afternoon, the banks have announced that they will NIS block accounts. As soon as the blockade starts, it can be expected that business will be difficult - that gasoline will not be able to be paid for at the pumps with cards and that consumers will primarily be in trouble.
Even though the clock is ticking, and the gasoline cans are being prepared extensively, the representatives of the Serbian state are unusually relaxed. It's as if they know the response of the US administration to the delay request sanction according to the Oil Industry of Serbia.
Trio fantasy
The Americans, it seems, are waiting for the last moment to say whether they accept the delay. Hungary also took the side of Serbia, that is, the common interest, which sent OFAK (the American Office for Foreign Assets Control) another request for a postponement.
The situation with the Oil Industry of Serbia has once again shown that money flows with oil faster and better than political interests.
The established political duet of Serbia and Hungary was joined this time by Croatia, that is, their state company JANAF, through whose pipeline Serbia is supplied. This company would lose millions if NIS suddenly stopped working, because through it they supply the entire Balkans and beyond with their energy products and thus operate successfully. So even the Croats asked that the sanctions be postponed for 90 days, until they all see what they will do together.
No worries.
The Minister of Mining and Energy, Dubravka Đedović Handanović, stated that tomorrow, when the American sanctions against the Serbian Oil Industry should come into force, is no "D-Day" and that citizens have no reason to worry and can fill fuel as before.
"I want to assure citizens that there is no place for panic and fear, we will continue to monitor the market and supply at the pumps," Đedović Handanović told RTS.
According to her, there is no reason for citizens to stock up or to be afraid of card payments.
"We found ourselves between two great powers, we neither sought nor deserved sanctions, and we are talking from both sides," said Đedović Handanović, who added that she is encouraged that the two countries have started talks.
Still, we are preparing – for no
"Serbia has started to increase its reserves, mandatory reserves increased by more than 50 percent in the past two and a half years. We have them for about three months on average, but the goal is not to use them", said Đedović Handanović. "Our goal is that the Refinery in Pancevo works and the supply is ensured as long as possible."
Đedović Handanović said that the goal of the state is that from tomorrow there will be no major changes and that tomorrow the payment will be the same as before.
The government's working group, which was formed to resolve the issue of American sanctions, has repeatedly announced to NIS that there are reserves of both oil and derivatives for regular supply even in case of sanctions.
However, due to the banks' announcement that they will stop payment transactions, NIS paid employees their February and March salaries last week. The competent authorities do not expect all banks to immediately suspend cooperation with NIS. And according to the announcements, there will be fuel at NIS pumps, and it will be possible to pay in cash and with certain cards.
"Transactions in Serbia by NIS can be in dinars, they can continue to work normally. There will be a bit of a problem with importing spare parts. It is now a question whether OFAK will allow some special operations to maintain that process industry. We will see what OFAK will say. It is not uncommon to obtain some licensing. Which means - you can do this, you can't do this", stated the director of "Srbijagas" Dušan Bajatović.
In wholesale, NIS covers 80 percent of the market and with 400 pumps, 60 percent in retail. If the Refinery in Pančevo stops, it will be difficult to replace it, and the problem is wider because NIS supplies a good part of the regional market as well, reports RTS. As a solution for the continuation of refinery processing, there is the possibility of finding an intermediary for the import of crude oil, derivatives, spare parts and equipment.
What is licensing?
The solution suggested by Dušan Bajatović is NIS licensing.
It actually refers to issuing the right to license your own brand, that is, to issue the right to a partner to produce and sell products with your brand name.
Thus, Gazprom could issue a license to Serbia, and in practice there is a possibility of issuing royalties from the arrangement, as well as paying an advance in exchange for permission for the license holder to use a certain brand.
Bajatović mentioned that Russian companies already function similarly in some parts of Europe, where the ownership has not changed, but the companies are managed from the countries where the business is conducted.
