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Belarus, Kazakhstan agree on oil supplies, launch commercial negotiations

NUR-SULTAN, 25 October (BelTA) – Belarus and Kazakhstan have agreed on oil supplies and are launching commercial negotiations, Chairman of the Belarusian state petrochemical concern Belneftekhim Andrei Rybakov told the media on 25 October, BelTA has learned.

“We have agreed on the text of an intergovernmental agreement. The document will be subject to domestic approval. However, we have agreed to begin commercial negotiations with business entities without waiting for the signing of the document,” said Andrei Rybakov.

According to him, negotiations will be held at the Belarusian concern and the Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan. The two agencies will supervise the talks. “We hope that in the near future we will find mutually acceptable forms of cooperation through contracts and implement plans to process oil from Kazakhstan at our refineries,” the Belneftekhim chairman said.

He did not disclose the commercial component of the upcoming negotiations, explaining that “it requires silence”. “We will all feel its results. They should certainly be mutually beneficial,” said Andrei Rybakov.

If the negotiations go well, Belarus will purchase Kazakhstan oil. The amount and price will be negotiated later. These aspects are not included in the intergovernmental agreement. The parties are also discussing how to supply oil to Belarus. “All logistics chains will be looked into carefully. The volumes will be agreed upon each year,” the chairman of the concern added.

According to TASS citing Minister of Energy of Kazakhstan Kanat Bozumbayev as saying, the main parameters of the agreement on the supply of oil and oil products have been agreed with Belarus. “We have agreed on the main parameters of the agreement to supply oil and oil products,” said Kanat Bozumbayev. In his words, the agreement will not specify the volume of supplies, but “will include the necessary rules and conditions”. “We will provide the Belarusian partners with the opportunity to negotiate with our oil companies, primarily our companies in Tengiz, Karachaganak and Kashagan fields,” the minister of energy said. He added that an agreement had also been reached with Belarus on the impossibility to re-export oil products.

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