The operator of the main oil pipeline Gomeltransneft Druzhba has reported that oil will be supplied to Mazyr Refinery from the territory of Ukraine via the Odessa-Brody oil pipeline, TASS reports.
Belarusian operator Druzhba is almost ready to deliver Azerbaijani oil to the Mazyr Refinery from the territory of Ukraine through the Odessa-Brody oil pipeline, chief engineer of the company Andrey Vyaryha told the agency on Thursday.
“This is a normal transportation process. The Ukrtransnafta operator [in Ukraine] keeps all equipment in good condition. The pipeline has never been decommissioned, it is filled with technological oil and is ready to work,” Vyaryha said.
According to him, back in 2011, the Belarusian side transported oil from Odessa, the Black Sea. “The system was working then, our pipeline system is ready to work now,” added Vyaryha.
He confirmed that oil supplies to Belarus are scheduled to begin in March upon the arrival of tankers in Odessa port.
Recently Belneftekhim reported about a deal with Azerbaijani company SOCAR for the supply of two tankers of oil totaling 160 thousand tons.
Contracts for supply of Russian oil to Belarus ended December 31, 2019. Since then the parties have been negotiating their extension. On January 4, oil supplies to Belarus were resumed by a group of companies controlled by Russian oligarch Mikhail Gutseriyev. The Belarusian authorities are searching for alternative sources of supply. At the end of January, the first batch of Norwegian oil arrived in Belarus. An option of supplying Saudi oil from Gdansk is being worked out.
