Business news

23 Apr 2019

Belarus suspends export of light oil products to Ukraine, Poland, Baltic countries

MINSK, 23 April (BelTA) - Belarus has suspended the export of light oil products to Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic countries due to the supply of poor-quality oil from Russia, Deputy Director General at the Belarusian Oil Company Sergei Grib said as the seminar-conference “Export of Belneftekhim products to the EU” organized by the National Marketing Center at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, BelTA has learned.

“We have suspended the export of light oil products, gasoline and diesel fuel to Ukraine, the Baltic countries and Poland. At the moment the contractual obligations are on halt until until we resolve the issue with Russian oil,” Sergei Grib said.

The decision to suspend the export is aimed at meeting the domestic demand in full.

According to him, Belarus is working to make sure the decision to suspend the export of light oil products will not entail sanction within the framework of the contracts. The damage over the export suspension is being assessed, Sergei Grib noted.

Ukraine, the Baltic states and Poland remain the premium sales markets for Belarus. “We sell so-called dark oil products, which are not consumed in the neighboring countries, to far distant states via the Baltic Sea ports,” Sergei Grib said.

As it has been reported, the quality of Russian export oil mixture Urals delivered in transit via the main oil pipeline of OAO Gomeltransneft Druzhba has dropped drastically in the last few days. Substandard oil has damaged the expensive equipment at the Mozyr Oil Refinery.