Belarus and Russia came finally into an agreement to restart oil supplies, in order to ensure the full capacity operation of Belarus’ oil refineries. The decision came after months of negotiations after Russia accepted Belarus’ terms regarding the transit fees.
The newly appointed Russian prime minister Mikhail Mishustin and his Belarusian counterpart Sergey Rumas announced that “the implementation of those agreements in full and on agreed terms” will ensure the supply of Russian oil to Belarus’ oil refineries.
According to local media, Russia has increased the discount at which Belarus may import Russian oil by 12 US dollars per tonne to 15,7 US dollars per tonne. Therefore, Russian oil companies are ready to restore supplies in the full amount of 480,000 barrels per day as soon as April 1.
The five largest Russian oil companies (Rosneft, Lukoil, Gazprom Neft, Surgutneftegaz and Tatneft) have not supplied raw materials for processing to Belarus since the beginning of 2020, while Minks was insisting on cutting the transit fees. Now such decision became possible due to the fact that Russia is preparing to terminate the agreement previously concluded under the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on limiting oil production.
Regarding the topic of energy cooperation, Mr Mishustin and Mr Rumas also emphasised the importance of the successful implementation of a joint project for the construction of a Belarusian nuclear power plant as of Russian design.
