Another “oil war” erupted between Belarus and Russia in the previous six months, ended a long-awaited truce. Minsk and Moscow signed an agreement on the terms of Russian oil supplies to Belarus, Prime Minister of the neighboring country Roman Golovchenko. He did not detail the terms of the agreement, saying only that they “in principle the interests of Belarus.”
Minsk and Moscow at the level of Prime Ministers have agreed on the price of “black gold” of Russia and signed an agreement on oil supplies to Belarus, said Prime Minister of Belarus Roman Golovchenko. Answering the question about the conditions of the agreement, Golovchenko said that “in principle, this technical agreement, which regulates the issue of payment for energy supplies”.
meanwhile, prices for Russian oil in the past six months has been a major stumbling block in relations between the two countries. A compromise was found after a three-month moratorium on oil supplies from Russia to Belarus, as the Belarusian side has refused to pay Russian oil companies a premium to the market price for the raw material. Its position Minsk explained by a sharp fall in world oil prices. Against this background, Belarus has started importing oil from alternative sources by buying through the ports of Lithuania and Ukraine several tankers from independent traders, as well as in Norway, Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia and the United States.
according to leaked information, the agreements of the heads of governments of Belarus and Russia provide for the inclusion in the price of Russian oil supplies award vendor in the amount of $4,7 per ton. Subsequently, the total volume of premium paid will be refunded Minsk the transfer of funds from the Russian to the Belarusian budget.
In accordance with the balance of deliveries of oil from Russia to Belarus in 2020 agreed in the amount of 24 million tons, but the actual amount will be much smaller: indeed, in the first quarter of Russian “black gold” to Belarus was received and was replaced with supplies from other sources.
meanwhile, Russian oil supplies to Belarus are Minsk serious support to Supplement the income of the Federal budget. In 2017, the two countries signed an agreement allowing Belarus to 2024 to obtain raw materials at preferential prices. After the so-called tax maneuver, which Russia started in 2019 (it is the gradual zeroing of export duties on oil and increase tax on mineral extraction), subsidizing the Belarusian Treasury stopped. Which forced Minsk to Express publicly their dissatisfaction with Moscow and to seek the replacement of Russian “black gold”.
Now it seems to be the status quo in Russian-Belarusian oil relationship restored, but the siegeto, as they say, remained. Anyway, recently the Minister of foreign Affairs of Belarus Vladimir Makei made the resonant statement that his country would continue to seek alternatives to oil supplies from Russia. According to him, diversification of oil supply has priority over economic expediency.
However, at the moment, the volume of the tanker (i.e., alternative to the Russian) supplies of hydrocarbons to Belarus is about 1 million tons – less than 5% of the total annual volume of oil imports of Belarus. This “MK” said the Director of the energy development Fund Sergey Pikin. He doubted that Minsk will be able to find an option that any supply of oil from all regions of the world will be cheaper than Russia. According to the expert, all the demarches of the Belarusian side and “loud” Lukashenka’s statements on the subject of oil resembled an advertising campaign. “To quarrel with Moscow, the old Man could not afford. It is unprofitable for Belarus, as the foreign allies, apart from Russia, Minsk is not so much. Moscow and Minsk were fated to agree about the oil supply,” — says Pikin.
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