The Ministry of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade has approved new prices for transporting oil through the Druzhba pipeline. The decision is reflected in the Ministry’s resolution, which is published on the National Legal Internet Portal.
On February 20, tariffs for the transportation of oil through the pipeline Druzhba will be increased. According to the resolution of the Ministry of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade, the tariff for oil transportation at the section Unecha (Vysokaye) – Polatsk – Nevel of the pipeline Druzhba is increased to 203.8 Russian rubles (by 7.03 Belarusian rubles) per ton. Previously, the cost was 191.2 Russian rubles (6.60 Belarusian ruble).
Since early 2020, Belarus has received oil only from the companies of oligarch Mikhail Gutseriyev, who is friends with Alyaksandr Lukashenka. There are still no agreements with the main Russian supplier companies (Rosneft, Surgutneftegaz, Gazpromneft). As a result, only 500 thousand tons of Russian oil were delivered to Belarus in January – one quarter of what was planned. The country’s refineries are short of raw materials. Belarus has even started taking technological oil from the Druzhba pipeline.
Alyaksandr Lukashenka failed to agree on oil supplies at the meeting with Vladimir Putin in Sochi. The head of Belarus said that allegedly the Russian government and personally Deputy Head of Administration Dmitry Kozak would control the matter and help to reach an agreement.
“I haven’t blackmailed anyone, I said: if Russia doesn’t supply oil in the needed quantities (in January they supplied only 500 thousand tons – 1.5 million tons undersupplied), we will start the withdrawal from the transit pipe,” said Alyaksandr Lukashenka.
