Deputy Chairman of
Belneftekhim Concern Vladimir Sizov noted that up to 650,000 tonnes of oil
might be delivered to Belarus in January.
MINSK, January 4.
/TASS/. The supply of Russian oil to Belarusian oil refineries has been
renewed, Deputy Chairman of Belneftekhim Concern Vladimir Sizov informed on
Saturday.
"Today, at 17:05
(local time, same as Moscow time - TASS), the pumps have been turned on and oil
supply has begun in the direction of Naftan [oil refinery]," the BelTA
news agency quotes the chairman as saying. He added that the supply would then
reach the Mozyrsky oil refinery, with 6,000 tonnes of oil to be supplied by the
end of the day.
"Oil transit is
carried out in accordance with the obligations undertaken by oil supply
enterprises and the Republic of Belarus," Sizov is quoted as saying.
"In order to ensure the steady work of oil refineries and steady oil
supply to the domestic market, we have reached an agreement with one of the
Russian oil enterprises that about 100-130,000 tonnes of oil will be delivered
at the first stage," he added. Sizov noted that up to 650,000 tonnes of
oil might be delivered to Belarus in January.
"In January, we
expect to renew [export of petroleum products]. We expect that by late January
- this is an optimistic scenario - all possible restrictions will be
lifted," the Belneftekhim deputy director noted. He explained that the
renewal of export would depend on the contract-signing process.
On Friday,
Belneftekhim said that Russia had stopped oil supplies to Belarus, adding that
the capacity of the country’s oil refineries had been reduced to the minimum
technologically permissible level.
On December 30 and 31,
Russian and Belarusian leaders Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko held two
phone calls, during which they discussed the export of Russian oil and gas to
the republic. Lukashenko also discussed this matter with Russian Prime Minister
Dmitry Medvedev and Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak on December 21. On
the same day, Lukashenko mandated the Belarusian oil and gas complex leadership
to sign contracts for oil deliveries and to work on the conditions of
delivering raw materials from Baltic ports via the railway service and the
Druzhba pipeline. However, the contracts have not been signed so far.
Source: ITAR-TASS
05-01-2020
