MOSCOW, 19 June (BelTA) – After the upgrade, the Belarusian oil refineries will be able to process 24 million tonnes of oil per year, Belarus Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Semashko told the media on the sidelines of Atomexpo in Moscow on 19 June, BelTA has learned.
“The construction and assembly works at the Mozyl oil refinery will likely be completed by the end of 2018, and the plant will reach the designed capacity in the first half of 2019. The upgrade program at Naftan will be finished by 7 November 2019. The refinery is expected to start operating at full capacity in late 2019 – early 2020. Then it will be economically profitable for us to process 24 million tonnes of oil. This is also envisaged in our balance sheets and the intergovernmental agreements with Russia,” Vladimir Semashko said.
Russia supplies Belarus with 24 million tonnes of oil annually, of which 18 million tonnes is delivered to the oil refineries for processing. “For economic reasons, we can process 18 million tonnes. This is the best option when both refineries earn maximum profits,” he noted.
Vladimir Semashko stressed that all issues on oil with Russia were fully settled. “We have been relieved from the obligation to deliver 1 million tonnes of high-octane fuel to Russia. Oil will be supplied to Belarus by the pipeline as this is the most economically beneficial option for us,” Vladimir Semashko said.
The price for the Russian gas for Belarus will be $129 per 1,000 cubic meters in 2018 and $127 in 2019. The parties agreed that by the end of this year they will prepare the proposals on the common market for gas. Belarus officially sent its proposals to the Russian colleagues. Consultations at the level of deputy energy ministers are already underway. They will then continue at the level of governments, Vladimir Semashko noted.
By 1 July 2019 Belarus and Russia are set to sign an agreement to outline the trajectory of movement towards comparable gas prices by 2020.
