MINSK, July 22. /TASS/. Oil production in Belarus gained 4.5% annually in the first half of 2025, chairman of the Belneftekhim holding Ilya Ikan told reporters.

"The volume of produced oil rose 4.5% versus last year over the first six months of this year," he said, cited by the BelTA news agency.

Oil production "is a good backing not merely for the Gomel Region, where the company has its core business, but for the country on the whole," Ikan stressed. "We plan to produce slightly more than two million tons of oil this year," he added.

Belarusian oil is lighter than Russian oil and provides for a greater yield of light petroleum products, such as gasoline and diesel fuel, he added.