MOSCOW, 24 May (BelTA) – Russia has confirmed its readiness to address issues concerning compensations for Belarus due to the situation with poor-quality Russian oil. Prime Minister of Belarus Sergei Rumas made the relevant statement after meeting with Prime Minister of Russia Dmitry Medvedev on 24 May, BelTA has learned.
Sergei Rumas said: “As for the compensations, the protocol that was signed yesterday also contains a paragraph about them. The sides need time to evaluate the damage caused by substandard oil to the plant and equipment at Mozyr Oil Refinery.”
When the work to evaluate the damage is finished, the information will be forwarded to Russia. “Today it was once again confirmed that the Russian side is ready to deal with the matter of compensations,” the Belarusian head of government noted.
On 19 April Belneftekhim registered a massive decrease in the quality of the Russian oil mixture Urals flowing in transit into the main oil pipeline section operated by OAO Polotsktransneft Druzhba. Both Belarusian oil refineries – OAO Naftan and Mozyr Oil Refinery – were forced to reduce their workload and have experienced financial losses. Naftan is still operating at 65% of its capacity.
A roadmap of measures to replace poor-quality Russian oil was completely agreed by the Belarusian and Russian sides on 23 May.
