NOVOPOLOTSK, 14 May (BelTA) – The Belarusian oil refinery OAO Naftan has started working on claims against Russian oil suppliers, who failed to honor their contractual commitments in April, BelTA learned from the company's Deputy Director General for Production Sergei Altukhov on 14 May.
The executive said: “Our legal department has started working on charging penalties to Russian suppliers for their failure to deliver quality oil in April.” Sergei Altukhov stressed that the main losses caused by the company's lower than usual performance are being calculated. Once the process is over, a joint package will be put together and claim settlement will continue.
Sergei Altukhov reminded that due to problems arising from deliveries of poor-quality oil in late April OAO Naftan had to reduce its oil processing volume to 50%. The company is operating with the reduced workload now, processing the raw materials fed via the Surgut-Polotsk oil pipeline. “This oil is fine. We can use it without fear of damaging the equipment. Yet due to the current situation some Naftan plants have been switched to circulation or the regimes that match their workload,” the deputy director general added.
In his words, OAO Naftan is now primarily concerned about the uncertainty of the situation. “The sooner the matter of supplying raw materials to match the target figures is resolved, the sooner Naftan will reach the required performance levels, which will allow straightening its economy and resolving the situation with supplying other Belneftekhim enterprises, which rely on getting raw materials from us and have also been forced to adjust their manufacturing plans. It will also help resolve problems with honoring contractual commitments to buyers of the products. We've now restructured our commitments regarding the planned delivery volumes,” Sergei Altukhov noted.
