BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

11/01/2007

Pipeline cos confirm resumption of Russian oil transit via Belarus

MOSCOW, Jan 11 (Prime-Tass) -- Several pipeline operators said Thursday that Russian oil transit through Belarus to Europe had been resumed.

Gomeltransneft Druzhba, which is the operator of the Belarusian section of the Druzhba pipeline and is owned by the Belarusian government, informed Russia's state-controlled oil pipeline monopoly Transneft that it had resumed Russian oil transit at 10.35 p.m. Moscow Time on Wednesday, Alexei Kostyuchenko, chief executive of Gomeltransneft Druzhba, said, ITAR-TASS reported.

Alexander Dikusarov, an adviser to the chief executive of Ukrainian pipeline operator Ukrtransneft, also said Thursday that Russian oil transit through the Belarusian section of the Druzhba pipeline to Ukraine had been restored, ITAR-TASS reported.

Gergely Abraham, a spokesman for Hungary's Economy and Transport Ministry, said Thursday that Russian oil transit through Belarus to Hungary had been resumed as well, as cited by ITAR-TASS.

Russian oil transit through the Druzhba pipeline to Poland has also been resumed, ITAR-TASS reported citing a spokesman for the owner of the pipeline's Polish section.

Additionally, German television networks ARD and ZDF reported Thursday that oil had also started flowing through Belarus to Germany.

The statements come after contradictory reports Wednesday about the resumption of Russian oil transit via Belarus.

Meanwhile, Russian Deputy Economic Development and Trade Minister Vitaly Savelyev and Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Kobyakov started another round of talks Thursday on the Russian-Belarusian oil transit dispute, Russia's Economic Development and Trade Ministry reported. The ministry said that Russian Economic Development and Trade Minister German Gref was expected to join the talks at 11.30 a.m. Moscow Time.

Gref and Kobyakov held a previous round of talks on the dispute late Wednesday.

A spokesman for the Belarusian government told ITAR-TASS Thursday that Belarusian Prime Minister Sergei Sidorsky had left for Moscow to negotiate the countries' dispute over oil transit with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov.

On Wednesday, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's press office reported that Lukashenko had reached a compromise on the countries' dispute over oil transit with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. Also on Wednesday, Sidorsky said that Belarus had abolished its U.S. $45 per tonne duty on Russian oil transit, which was imposed earlier this month prior to the halt of the oil supplies, ITAR-TASS reported.

On Monday, Belarus interrupted Russian oil deliveries to Europe via the Druzhba pipeline before Transneft stopped pumping its oil to Belarus as well. Belarus seized some of the oil transited, claiming it was not properly cleared by its customs authorities following the introduction of the transit duty, while Russia accused the former Soviet republic of stealing the oil.

The developments followed the imposition by Russia of a $180.7 per tonne duty on oil exports to Belarus in December 2006. Previously Belarus enjoyed duty-free supplies and benefited from refining Russian crude and subsequently exporting oil products.

Source:

http://www.prime-tass.com/news/show.asp?topicid=68&id=412870

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