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Specialists ready to help organize oil import from Baltic ports to Belarus by pipeline
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MINSK, 4 March (BelTA) – Specialists are ready to promptly consider and polish all the aspects of resuming the transportation of oil from Baltic ports to Belarus by pipeline. The relevant agreement was reached during an international expert seminar held at the Belarusian Institute of Strategic Research (BISR) on 4 March, BelTA has learned.
The seminar was held in the Chatham House format. An agreement was reached that specialists will take a look at all the aspects. It will be necessary to determine an optimal way to resume the operation of the pipeline system that will allow delivering oil from Baltic ports to Belarus. A working group will be set up soon to take care of the technical aspect of the matter and the legal one. Technical information will be used to prepare an agreement and push the project to the intergovernmental level. Participants of the seminar expressed readiness to explore avenues of cooperation in order to ensure the diversification of import of energy resources to Belarus. The interest of three sides – Belarus, Latvia, and Lithuania – in the matter was stressed.
The seminar gathered representatives of Latvian and Lithuanian railway administrations, oil transshipment and logistics companies, port administrations, and diplomats. The Belarusian side was represented by top officials and experts of the state petrochemical concern Belneftekhim, Belarusian Railways, and the Association of European Business. Among other things they discussed peculiarities of the current situation on the global market of hydrocarbon resources and forecasts for the short term and the medium one. Technical options were explored as well as advantages and risks of delivering oil to Belarus via Latvian and Lithuanian transit corridors. Possible scenarios for developing effective oil refining in Belarus were mentioned.
As he opened the seminar, BISR Director Oleg Makarov noted that the seminar is an opportunity for industry experts from Belarus, Lithuania, and Latvia to discuss their vision of the optimal alternative ways of delivering oil to Belarusian oil refineries. He reminded that during the government conference held on 3 March Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko set a number of goals focusing on the diversification of oil deliveries and the organization of crude materials logistics. Oleg Makarov said: “We are interested in discussing the situation and formulating an understandable stance for the future.” In his words, the Belarusian Institute of Strategic Research endeavors to keep an eye on the key matters of national development for the sake of providing information and analysis to the head of state and other top government officials on strategic aspects of the foreign policy and the domestic one. The institute will keep working with partner agencies to continue monitoring the diversification of sources and logistics of deliveries of hydrocarbon resources from the point of view of ensuring the country’s energy security.
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