Belarus cuts oil product exports over poor quality of Russian oil

MINSK/MOSCOW, Apr 22 (PRIME) -- Belarusian state oil and petrochemical holding Belneftekhim has temporarily reduced exports of oil products from Belarus because of a rapid worsening of the quality of oil the company receives from Russia, Deputy CEO Vladimir Sizov told reporters on April 21.

On April 19, Belneftekhim said in a statement that the quality of Russia’s Urals oil blend, which the country pumps into the Gomeltransneft Druzhba pipeline has fallen considerably with content of organochlorine compounds exceeded the maximum allowed content by several dozen times.

“Taking into account the sowing campaign and the existing risks of refining of poor-quality crude, we’ve decided to suspend the supplies of oil products via export routes,” Sizov said at a meeting of an emergency headquarters at oil product producer Naftan, as broadcast by Belarusian news agency BelTA.

The will be lifted as soon as the quality of Russian oil improves, he said.

Gomeltransneft Gruzhba CEO Oleg Borisenko told reporters that the quality of Russian oil had been steadily improving, but that Belarus received about 700,000 tonnes of poor quality oilin the past three days.

“The contaminated oil was located at the Samara–Unecha pipe thread, which runs through more than 1,400 kilometers. Our estimates show that Belarusian refineries will start receiving high-quality oil no earlier than in eight to 10 days,” he said.

Igor Dyomin, adviser to the president of Russian oil pipeline monopoly Transneft, told reporters that the company was in constant contact with specialists of Gomeltransneft Druzhba, Belneftekhim, and oil refineries of Belarus.

“Our forecasts say that the situation with the quality should normalize until Monday or Tuesday of next week (April 22 or April 23),” he said.

He also said that oil pumping via the Druzhba pipeline to Belarus and other countries had not been suspended.

A representative of the Russian Energy Ministry said that the authority was discussing ways to minimize the consequences of the situation with the Belarusian authorities, including through alternative routes of supplies to the Mozyr and Novopolotsk refineries. The worsening of oil quality is a technical problem and is not connected with the disputes going on between Russia and Belarus now, the spokesperson said.

Naftan CEO Alexander Demidov said separately that Minsk asked Moscow to raise oil pumping to Belarus through the Surgut–Polotsk pipeline, which was loaded by only 10% at the moment.

Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Lyashenko said that representatives of Belneftekhim and CEOs of the country’s refineries will meet with Russian authorities to discuss the situation next Tuesday, on April 23. Andrei Rybakov, CEO of Belnetekhim, told reporters separately that Belarus planned to discuss ways for Transneft to compensate the damage inflicted by the situation.

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