On November 28th, the Council of the Republic approved amendments to the intergovernmental agreement on payments and transfer of export duties on oil products. Belarus will be able to keep roughly USD 125 million in her budget each month, but not more than USD 1.5 billion a year. If oil prices drop below USD 70/barrel, Belarus’ proceeds will drop and she will need additional funds to repay her public debt. The government is anticipated to continue negotiations with Russia in order to receive better compensation for Russia’s grand tax manoeuvre in the petrochemical industry. When the intergovernmental agreement is ratified, Belarus will still have the possibility to resume her export schemes with antioxidants and bituminous mixtures and increase their export volumes in order to compensate for the lower oil price and lower profitability of the industry.
