According to the agreement on oil supplies, signed between Russia and Belarus for 2012-2015, Belarus will be able to save $30 per ton of Russian oil.
The lower oil price will become possible due to abolition of awards the Russian oil companies used to get when supplying oil to Belarus (it was $45-47 per ton in 2011).
As explained by the source in the oil industry, the present oil price is pegged to the cost of raw materials at the port of Rotterdam (during last year's negotiations the Belarusian side offered to peg the price to the quotes at the port of Primorsk). This makes the Russian oil to Belarus more expensive by about $1.5 per barrel (about $15 per ton), RIA Novosti informs
On December 15, Belarus and Russia agreed on terms of oil supplies for 2012-2015. The volume of Russian oil deliveries to Belarus will fully meet the needs of refineries. In particular, 21.5 million tons of Russian oil will be delivered in Belarus in 2012, that is, 3.5 million tons more than in 2011.
The parties also agreed on a new oil pricing formula, which would "give the financial viability to deliveries of Belarusian oil products in Russia." According to the document, in mutual trade, the parties will not apply quantitative restrictions and export duties or other duties, taxes and fees of equivalent value. In accordance with the signed documents, subsidiaries of the Russian oil companies are entitled to monthly processing of about 50% of the supplied oil at the Belarusian oil refineries in compliance with transportation schedules.
