Russia’s oil continues to flow to Belarus despite the failure of the two countries to reach a new supply agreement, Maryna Kastsyuchenka, spokesperson for Belarusian state petrochemical conglomerate Belnaftakhim, told BelaPAN on January 20.
Ms. Kastsyuchenka refused to comment on the unconfirmed report that Transneft, Russia’s state run pipeline operator, had recently cut oil shipments to Belarus by more than half. According to the report, the amount of oil flowing to the Belarusian refineries has dropped to 13 tons a day since January 14 compared with between 30,000 and 31,000 tons in December 2009.
Ms. Kastsyuchenka also would not comment on whether the Belarusian authorities plan to raise fuel prices by up to 10 to 20 percent in the domestic market. "When we have appropriate information, we will tell you," she said.
Since the beginning of January crude oil has been supplied to the Naftan and MNPZ refineries under last year’s contracts and the amounts of oil deliveries specified in the contracts are expected to be used up before February.
When asked to comment last week, Ms. Kastsyuchenka refused to say whether new oil supply contracts had been signed, citing secrecy issues.
