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Russia's Energy Ministry keeps 2019 oil production outlook unchanged

The outlook remains the same despite the situation with contamination of the Druzhba pipeline, says minister

ST. PETERSBURG, June 6. /TASS/. Russia’s Energy Ministry keeps its crude production outlook for 2019 unchanged despite the situation with contamination of the Druzhba pipeline, Minister Alexander Novak told reporters on Thursday.

"The outlook is unchanged so far. If there are any changes (in production volumes - TASS) we will ensure their replenishment by the end of the year," he said.

Earlier Novak said that Russia might slightly boost crude production in 2019 compared with 2018 to 556-560 mln tonnes.

The Druzhba oil pipeline provides supplies of oil to Belarusian refineries and its transit to Europe through Belarus, Poland and Ukraine.

In mid-April, Belneftekhim reported a sharp deterioration in the quality of the Russian oil running through the pipeline. As a result, several states stopped receiving and refining the Russian oil. The contaminant source was revealed at the Samara-Unecha section. Transneft said that the Russian oil in the Druzhba pipeline was deliberately contaminated. Law enforcement agencies initiated a respective criminal case. Official spokeswoman of the Russian Investigative Committee Svetlana Petrenko told reporters earlier that contaminated oil was loaded into the Druzhba oil pipeline in order to conceal multiple oil thefts.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak and Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Lyashenko have agreed on measures to clean the pipeline, so as the supplies of clean oil to Poland could be resumed by mid-June. Supplies of on-spec oil to Belarus resumed in early May.

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