Russian Oil Flows By Belarus

Russian companies will increase oil export by sea.

Russian companies are increasing oil supplies through ports amid declining pipeline and railway supplies to Belarus.

In February of this year, Russian companies will send 11.18 million tons of oil through the ports of Primorsk, Novorossiysk, Ust-Luga and Kozmino, naviny.by has learnt in the international independent price agency Argus Media.

Compared with January, the daily supply volumes will increase by an average of 175.6 thousand barrels, but due to the fewer days in February, in absolute terms, volumes will slightly decrease - by 20 thousand tons.

True, if compared with February last year, the volume of deliveries of the Russian oil by sea will increase by 11.5%. A year ago, the February volume of deliveries through Primorsk, Ust-Luga, Novorossiysk and Kozmino amounted to 10.03 million tons.

Russian suppliers are redirecting oil to ports due to the lack of long-term contracts with Belarusian oil refineries. The parties cannot agree on the price of raw materials.

In Russia, as Aliaksandr Lukashenka said, they insist on bonuses for the price of oil at $ 15-16 per ton. In Belarus, according to the ruler, they do not agree to work under such conditions.

Since the beginning of this year, the only supplier of the Russian oil to Belarus has been the company Safmar, owned by billionaire Mikhail Gutseriev, a man close to Lukashenka. However, the supply volumes are significantly lower than last year.

According to Argus Media, in January, compared with December, supplies fell immediately by 70%, to 509.3 thousand tons. While the supplies by railway increased from 10.1 to 102.3 thousand tons, the supplies through the pipeline fell from 1.7 million tons to 407 thousand tons.

In February, Safmar plans to supply about 450 thousand tons of oil to Belarus. Of these, 100 thousand tons will go by railway, 350 thousand tons - through the pipeline, said a company representative.

Another 80 thousand tons of the Russian oil may be sent to Belarus by Tatneft.

If Minsk and Moscow do not agree on the price of raw materials, then Russian suppliers will continue to ship it to ports. A total of about 42 million tons of oil can be shipped bypassing Belarus by sea, the Russian Institute for the Development of Fuel and Energy Technologies has calculated. This is almost twice more than the planned deliveries to Belarus this year (24 million tons).

Perhaps the situation will be resolved after the meeting between Aliaksandr Lukashenka and Vladimir Putin, which will be held on February 7 in Sochi. The ruler of Belarus announced it as "the moment of truth."

In the meantime, the Belarusian oil refineries in Mazyr and Navapolatsk are working at minimum load. They process from 16 to 20 thousand tons of oil per day, and primarily provide fuel to the domestic market.