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Russia ready to resume oil supply to Belarus under market conditions - source

The source stressed that oil supply from Russia to Belarus under 2019 conditions would be more beneficial than alternative routes from other states, allowing the republic to save up to $1.6 bln taking into account the planned supply volume for 2020 coming up to 24 mln tonnes

MOSCOW, January 4. /TASS/. Russian companies are ready to resume oil supply to Belarusian oil refineries only under 2019 market conditions, a high-ranking source in the oil industry informed TASS.

"Russian companies offered to maintain the conditions without worsening them, however, Belarus refused oil supply. If the Belarusian oil refineries agree to continue cooperating under 2019 market conditions, [Russian] companies are ready to resume oil supply immediately," the source said.

According to the source, the lack of signed oil supply contracts is due to the Belarusian oil refineries’ unwillingness to pay the market price for oil. "In recent years, Belarusian oil refineries have purchased oil under the conditions similar to those of Russian independent oil refineries, that is, an export alternative plus a small premium," the source added.

The source stressed that oil supply from Russia to Belarus under 2019 conditions would be more beneficial than alternative routes from other states, allowing the republic to save up to $1.6 bln taking into account the planned supply volume for 2020 coming up to 24 mln tonnes.

On Friday, Belneftekhim said that Russia had stopped oil supplies to Belarus, adding that the capacity of the country’s oil refineries had been reduced to the minimum technologically permissible level.

On December 30 and 31, Russian and Belarusian leaders Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko held two phone calls, during which they discussed the export of Russian oil and gas to the republic. Lukashenko also discussed this matter with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak on December 21. On the same day, Lukashenko mandated the Belarusian oil and gas complex leadership to sign contracts for oil deliveries and to work on the conditions of delivering raw materials from Baltic ports via the railway service and the Druzhba pipeline. However, the contracts have not been signed so far.