oil refinery “Naftan” in Novopolotsk Belarus received the first batch of oil from Norway. According to the press service of the concern “Belneftekhim”, the composition with the first batch of Norwegian oil arrived at the station “Novopolotsk” on Sunday morning, January 26, and after the necessary paperwork, the oil will start to flow at the refinery.
Two days earlier, a Norwegian ship Breiviken delivered to the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda 80 thousand tons of crude petroleum Johan Sverdrup intended for “Naftan”. From the port to the Belarusian refineries transporterowych oil by rail.
From January 1, Russia stopped the supply of oil to Belarusian refineries, as Minsk and Moscow have not signed an agreement on the terms of oil supplies in 2020, reminds “Interfax”. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko stated that Russia wants to supply Belarus with oil at prices higher than the world. From the beginning of 2020 oil from Russia to Belarus is not available. The exception of small amounts from a group of “Safmar” Mikhail Gutseriev, who agreed in the Belarusian conditions.
According to the authorities of Belarus, they have sent proposals for import of oil to the Baltic States, Poland, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. According to Lukashenko, are also the negotiations on oil supplies from the U.S., Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. These countries are ready to supply Belarus with any volume of oil, but at the world price, he said, adding: “But the quality of the oil are better.”
last year Belarus imported from Russia 17.6 million tons of oil. 21 Jan President Lukashenka said Belarus would ensure that imported oil from Russia amounted to 30-40 percent of all her needs, and 30 percent of the oil it must import via the Baltic countries and Ukraine.
In the past Belarus has repeatedly imported varieties of oil, an alternative to the Russian Urals, but these lines are always treated Belarus is much more expensive and episodic, demonstrative, noted earlier by Reuters.
According to a source in the port of Klaipeda, the current supply of oil through it is also significantly more expensive than the import via pipelines. Handling and transportation to the Novopolotsk refinery by rail will cost more than $ 20 per ton of raw materials.
