Business news

5 Apr 2021

Belarus ships over 220,000t of oil products via Russian seaports

An archive photo

MINSK, 5 April (BelTA) - The agreement on the supply of Belarusian oil products through the Russian seaports resulted in the establishment of a new international transport corridor, through which more than 220,000 tonnes of cargo have already been shipped, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said at a meeting with his deputies, TASS reports.

He recalled that at the request of the Russian president, in early 2021 the government worked out and signed an intergovernmental agreement on the shipment of Belarusian oil products through the Russian seaports. The document is designed for three years and provides for automatic prolongation. It envisages the transportation of almost 10 million tonnes of Belarusian oil products during the period, said the Russian prime minister. Belarus began shipping oil products to the Russian seaports on 5 March.

“Active work in this area began one month ago. More than 220,000 tonnes have already been shipped through our seaports, which is almost a quarter more than it was planned,” said Mikhail Mishustin. According to him, “not only a chain of exports has been formed within the Union State, but, in fact, a new international transport corridor has been established”.

Mikhail Mishustin added that according to the forecasts, April is also expected to see the targets exceeded by at least 100,000 tonnes. “This is a good pace,” he said. Mikhail Mishustin turned to Vitaly Savelyev, Minister of Transport, and asked him to report on the status of Belarusian oil product shipment.

According to the minister, nearly 111,000 tonnes of petrol were delivered to the port of Ust-Luga this month, while the plan was 86,000 tonnes. The St. Petersburg oil terminal received 96,600 tonnes of fuel oil for shipment instead of the initially planned 90,000 tonnes. Some 14,600 tonnes of gas oil were delivered to Ust-Luga as well.

“The revenue of Russian companies from the export of services for the transportation and shipment of Belarusian oil products amounted to about RUB348 million in March. A positive forecast of the refineries' shipment schedule for April envisages about 280,000 tonnes of oil products: 106,000 tonnes of gas oil, 92,500 tonnes of fuel oil and 71,000 tonnes of petrol. This is despite the fact that in April it was planned to ship not less than 180,000 tonnes of products,” he said.

In his words, plans are in place to ship about 360,000 tonnes of oil products in May-June.

Commenting on the minister's report, Mikhail Mishustin said that the work in this area should be continued. According to him, it is very important to ensure high-quality and timely supplies.

“First of all, we are talking about strengthening of our economic ties, loading the transport infrastructure and developing common energy markets. It is necessary to actively use and increase the competitive advantages of Russia and Belarus,” the Russian prime minister said.