Belarus signs deal to export oil products through Russian ports

MOSCOW, Feb 19 (PRIME) -- Moscow and Minsk have signed an agreement on exports of Belarusian oil products through Russian seaports, according to the information obtained by PRIME on Friday during the signing ceremony.

Under the document, Belarus will transship 9.8 million tonnes of fuel oil, gasoline, and motor oil through Russian seaports in the Baltic Sea in 2021–2023, including 3.5 million tonnes in 2021, 3.2 million tonnes in 2022, and 3.1 million tonnes in 2023.

“The agreement is signed for three years, but it is almost perpetual, because it includes automatic prolongation,” Transport Minister Vitaly Savelyev said during the signing ceremony.

“The Russian ports are already ready to transship 9.8 million tonnes of Belarusian oil products as of today. As per our agreement, we scheduled traffic of 3.5 million tonnes for this year, and we are ready to transship around 2 million tonnes together with our Belarusian partners taking into account that the year has already started.”

Savelyev also said that the transport ministers of Russia and Belarus planned to work out conditions for exports of Belarusian potash fertilizers through the Russian ports.

“Alexei Nikolayevich (Avramenko, Belarusian transport and communications minister) and I will continue work. We have the possibility to continue working on other products that Belarus produces, like … potash fertilizers, including 10 million tonnes produced for exports,” he said.

Under the agreement, contracts under the take-or-pay condition, where a sea terminal will get the entire contracted payment even if cargo sender does not transship the contracted cargo in full will be signed. The combined contracted cargo traffic of oil products for 2021 is envisaged at 2 million tonnes.

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