Business news

25 Feb 2020

Belarus, Russia sign protocol on compensation for polluted oil

An archive photo

MINSK, 25 February (BelTA) – Belarus has signed a protocol on compensation for polluted oil with the Russian Federation and expects to get paid $15 per barrel of polluted oil, BelTA learned from Deputy Chairman of the Belarusian state petrochemical concern Belneftekhim Vladimir Sizov.

The official said: “Active work is in progress. A protocol saying the Russian side is ready to compensate has been signed. We are working to determine and confirm the compensatory payments that will have to be paid to Mozyr Oil Refinery in the end.”

The Belneftekhim deputy head noted that getting a sum on par with those paid to other parties involved in the polluted oil situation is the idea. Those are contractors in Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, and Hungary. “From public sources we know they’ve received compensation to the amount of $15 per barrel of delivered oil with increased chlorinated organics content,” he added.

BelTA reported earlier that on 19 April 2019 the Belarusian state petrochemical concern 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. A number of countries stopped taking and processing Russian oil as a result. Both Belarusian oil refineries – OAO Naftan and Mozyr Oil Refinery – were forced to reduce their workload and suffered financial losses. Damage was also caused to the pipeline system.