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Energy Ministry to draft proposal on Belarusian oil shipments via Russian seaports

According to the current agreement, Russia is supplying 24 mln tonnes of oil per year to Belarus duty free

IZMIR, August 18. /TASS/. The Russian Energy Ministry will shortly draw up a proposal on binding use of domestic transport infrastructure by Belarusian refineries during shipment of goods, Minister Alexander Novak said on Friday.

"We have received such an assignment and started working on details now," Novak said. The ministry "will gather analytical data in near future and will be able to propose an option," he said.

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Russia and Belarus to decide on single oil and gas market by yearend

Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier instructed to oblige Belarusian refineries to use Russian seaports when exporting oil products.

According to the current agreement, Russia is supplying 24 mln tonnes of oil per year to Belarus duty free, including 18 mln tonnes for refining.

Russia has the opportunity to deliver to Belarus less than 24 million tonnes of oil in 2017 as part of the agreements with the republic, he went on.

"The agreements provide for an option to supply less, but at the same time the share of sales to our Belarusian partners in the total volume will not be more than 24 million tonnes," he said, answering the question whether Russia has an opportunity to deliver less than the declared volume of oil.

Russia and Belarus signed a package of documents settling disagreements in the oil and gas sphere on April 13, 2017. Moscow is to restore annual oil deliveries of 24 mln tonnes from 2017 to 2024 with an option to increase supplies from 2017. Minsk settled its debt to Gazprom totaling $726.2 mln for Russian gas deliveries in 2016-2017.

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