MINSK, 26 April (BelTA) – In H1 2017 Belarus will process at least 9 million tonnes of Russian oil, BelTA learned from an interview given by Prime Minister of Belarus Andrei Kobyakov to the TV channel Belarus One.
Andrei Kobyakov said: “We expect that the oil and natural gas arrangements made as a result of negotiations between the presidents in Moscow on 3 April will be fulfilled as well as other arrangements on related matters.”
Since Belarus will get more Russian oil, the industrial output of the Belarusian state petrochemical concern Belneftekhim is expected to rise. “More oil will be processed. We expect we will be able to process at most 9 million tonnes in H1 2017 and 18 million tonnes of oil in the entire year,” said the prime minister.
Andrei Kobyakov underlined that the Belarusian economy had demonstrated positive recovery trends when the country expected to get only 16 million tonnes of oil per annum. “In other words, the figures were secured when we processed only 4 million tonnes of oil in Q1 2017. It is an important result in these conditions,” said the Belarusian head of government.
BelTA reported earlier that on 13 April Belarus and Russia signed a package of four documents on oil and natural gas. The number included protocols on amending the intergovernmental agreement on pricing natural gas deliveries to Belarus and future cooperation in natural gas affairs, on consequent operation of the natural gas transportation company Beltransgaz, and measures to smooth out trade and economic cooperation in the export of oil and oil products. According to Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Vladimir Semashko, the agreement on supplying Belarus with 24 million tonnes of Russian oil per annum is a long-term one and is designed to last through 2024. Vice Prime Minister of Russia Arkady Dvorkovich added that according to the signed documents out of the 24 million tonnes of oil Belarus will keep 18 million tonnes for processing while the rest will be used for export operations.
