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Belarus’ Naftan oil refinery calculating losses from tainted Russian oil

MINSK, 10 June (BelTA) – Naftan oil refinery keeps calculating losses caused by the supply of poor-quality Russian oil to Belarus and is getting ready to push for compensation in its negotiations with Russia, Naftan Director General Aleksandr Demidov said in an interview with the Belarus 1 TV Channel on 9 June, BelTA has learned.

The Belarusian president visited Naftan on 7 June. He told heads of the domestic oil refineries to negotiate compensation exclusively in a businesslike manner. When asked about the progress in recovering damage, Aleksandr Demidov emphasized that the company is ready to defend its interests and the interests of the country. Tainted Russian oil did not get to Naftan; however the company was forced to reduce the workload. “We lost profit. We are still calculating how much,” the director general said.

The president gave an instruction to draft a strategy for Naftan by the end of the year. At present the company is considering several strategies favoring a petrochemical one.

In 2018, the oil conversion ratio at the company averaged 71%. The construction of a delayed coking plant will increase this ratio up to 93%. The payback period is estimated at 5-6 years depending on the situation on the market.

BelTA reported earlier that 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 Gomeltransneft Druzhba. The concentration of chlororganic compounds in oil exceeded standard thresholds dozens of times over. Both Belarusian oil refineries – Naftan and Mozyr Oil Refinery – were forced to reduce their workload and experienced financial losses. A Belarus-Russia roadmap on removing Russia’s tainted oil from the territory of Belarus was finalized on 23 May.

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