The flow of polluted Russian oil in the Druzhba pipeline and the subsequent shut down of the ‘pipe’ led to a halt in the export of Belarusian oil. “Yes, the export of Belarusian oil is stopped. We expect the resumption of supplies this July,” the representatives of the Belneftekhim Concern said TUT.BY. The concern hopes to catch up on the volumes that dropped by the end of the year. It was reported earlier that the Polish direction of the Druzhba pipeline will open on 10 June. Recall, on 19 April, the Belneftekhim announced a sharp deterioration in the quality of the Russian oil running in the Druzhba pipeline. On 23 April, Belarus suspended the export of light oil products to Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic countries. On 2 May, pure Russian oil began to flow to Belarus, and the shipment of petroleum products was resumed. At present, the parties are clearing the ‘dirt’ of the Druzhba pipeline and calculating the amount of damage caused. In Belarus, the state-owned company Belorusneft is producing oil. The company operates in a region with tightly recoverable oil reserves. It extracts 1.65 million oil a year, all of it is exported. “This is beneficial to the state because all export duties go to the budget. Secondly, this is currency earnings, which positively affects the country’s trade balance, ” Sergey Kamornnikov, the Deputy Director General of Belorusneft, explained. Belarusian refineries produce motor fuel from Russian oil, and Belorusneft purchases petroleum products from domestic refineries for retail and wholesale.
