Belarus says hopes to clean Druzhba pipeline by August 15

MINSK/ALMETYEVSK, Tatarstan Republic, Jun 21 (PRIME) – Belarus, which has started to clean the Druzhba pipeline from contaminated oil on the Unecha–Polotsk segment of the pipeline to the Naftan refinery, plans to complete full cleaning of the pipeline by August 15, state holding Belneftekhim reported on Friday.

“The Belarusian side has processed with fulfillment of another stage of a roadmap of replacement of contaminated Russian oil with quality crude on the main pipeline Druzhba,” the holding said, adding that the pipelines of Belarus are to be completely cleaned from poor-quality oil by August 15.

The oil arriving via Druzhba in Belarus from Russia is of a standard quality, the company said.

CEO of Russian oil company Tatneft Nail Maganov said that the company had started to receive claims from customers due to the incident with Druzhba.

“They are sensible, in the framework of agreements. Claim processing continues. So, it’s hard to tell now what the amount of damage it will be,” Maganov said.

Russia started pumping oil contaminated with chlorides via the Druzhba pipeline in April. Poland and Ukraine stopped oil taking on April 24–25. Poland resumed pumping on June 10. Transneft is to compensate for the losses.

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