Serbia will make part of its sole NIS oil refinery ?available to other domestic oil ?firms to secure supplies in August because of high demand and record-low water levels ?in the Danube river, Energy ?Minister Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic said on ?Wednesday.
Serbia's fuel imports fell to 25% of ?their monthly target in July as ?low Danube water levels in Hungary, Serbia and Romania forced barges and tankers to operate ?at 30% to 40% of ?their cargo capacity.
"Together with representatives of NIS and ?the ?Association of Oil Companies of Serbia, we have analysed all measures to respond to the increased demand in ?August," Handanovic ?said, adding ?that state oil reserves will be preserved for extreme ?emergency.
The low levels of the ?Danube ?have affected other Serbian energy facilities such as the coal-fired Kostolac power ?plants, ?where a lack of ?water disrupted cooling systems, leading to lower output.
(Reuters, August 5, 2026)
