MINSK, 19 August (BelTA) – The Belarusian state petrochemical concern Belneftekhim expects that by the end of this year Russia will pay the bulk of the compensation for the losses Belarus incurred because of the delivery of tainted oil from Russia or that the two countries will settle accounts in some other way, Chairman of the concern Andrei Rybakov said in an interview with the Belarus 1 TV channel on 17 August, BelTA has learned.
“At present we are discussing various compensation mechanisms with the Russian side. Unfortunately, the process is moving on not so fast. The work is ongoing and we believe that by the end of the year we will receive most of the compensation from Russia or agree on some reasonable, clear-cut payments that will not raise any disputes between us and economic entities of the Russian Federation,” he said. After that, the remaining part of the compensation will be paid to Belarus.
BelTA reported earlier that on 19 April Belneftekhim registered a massive decrease in the quality of the Russian oil mixture Urals coming via the oil pipeline system Druzhba. The concentration of chlororganic compounds in oil exceeded standard thresholds dozens of times over. As a result, a number of countries stopped receiving and processing the Russian oil.
Both Belarusian oil refineries – OAO Naftan and Mozyr Oil Refinery – were forced to reduce their workload and suffered financial losses. The oil transportation infrastructure was also damaged.
